Male Pregnancy Serum 2: Love and Life
by AshakiranTheTenthBeast
Summary: Now that the babies are born and have all grown to the sizes of young teenagers, its time to tell them the truth of their parentage which isn't going over so well. Marriages that have only just come together are falling apart as real life intrudes on the newlyweds. And something weird is going on, is the Male Pregnancy Serum…contagious?
1. The Revealing Part 2

Hi everyone, its Ashakiran. This is the first chapter of Male Pregnancy Serum 2: Love and Life. If someone here hasn't read the first one, go check it out otherwise you'll be completely lost. To my returning readers, I posted this to tide you over until I have more chapters to post. This chapter was in fact going to be apart of one long chapter, but its taking me too long to write it, so I chopped this section off to post as a full chapter while I work on the next five parts. So enjoy and just wait for me, okay? See you later!

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_The Families_

The marriages had struck their eighteenth day anniversary. The five families were grouped in a meeting room in the Hokage's office. The six children, Kana Subaku, Sora Sarutobi, Miki and Mika Subaku, Tsubasa Hyuiha and Hikaru Hatake, had all grown and stagnated at the appeared age of twelve.

The Hokage and Lady Tsunade hadn't arrived and the families were talking and catching up.

Suddenly Hikaru was saying loudly, "That's not how babies are made Tsubasa! Besides, babies can't be made with two daddies!"

Tsubasa tossed back, "Well maybe _you_ have two daddies but I don't! Neji is my Mommy and Neji is a girl!"

"Yeah, that's right," spoke up Kana. "My Mom Kiba is a girl, duh Hikaru. I'm sure your Mom is a girl too! Like you said, you can't make babies with two daddies."

Hikaru looked upset that the other children were questioning him, his mouth firmed, his fists clenched a little. "What do you know about it? My parents Iruka and Kakashi are both men. I just call Iruka my Mom because he's the one who's the mother! Duh!"

"But you're wrong Hikaru," said Sora pointedly, at the same time she sounded pitying as if Hikaru was clearly stupid. "Mrs. Hatake is a woman, she has to be in order to have you."

Mika cleared her throat. "Actually, my Mommy is transgender. Mommy can be Naruto a boy or Naruko a girl at will! I'm sure Miki will be able to do that when he gets older too!"

Miki's nose wrinkled but he didn't say anything, arms crossed, coolly assessing the room. Gaara was actually making the same closed expression, silently watching the conversation taking place.

The adults looked at each other, all having the same questions. It was clear that the children didn't know the truth of their birth, the experiment, the male pregnancy, the forced marriages, none of it. It may have been eighteen days, yes with ups and downs, but what about the monthly exams? None of the children had reached the age of an eighteen year old and clearly their minds were childlike. And what about the children becoming Konoha ninjas? Some of them had shown expertise at jutsu, like Sora Nara and Tsubasa Hyuiha but Kana Subaku and Hikaru Hatake hadn't at all.

The door opened, the Fourth Hokage and Lady Tsunade walked in.

"Okay, let's get started." Minato leaned on his desk, saying, "Today is May 4th. You six," his eyes flickered over the children, who stopped fussing and watched him quietly, "were born on April 13th, your parents were married on April 16th. Its been eighteen days since and right now, we're here to discuss your development and intelligence."

"Well we already know Hikaru is dumb," snickered Kana, his smirk wide. "Hey, Hikaru, spell Stupid!"

Hikaru glared at him. "Stupid. K-A-N-A. Stupid!"

"Hey!" Kana's eyes narrowed and he stepped forward with sharp teeth bared but Kankuro's hand landed on the ruff of his jacket and reeled him backwards to his side.

"Stand down boy," he spoke harshly. "You started it so you deserved the insult. Now shut up while the Fourth Hokage is talking, show some fucking respect."

"Kankuro," sighed Kiba. "Language. There's little girls in the room, honestly."

"Let's stay on track, can we?" Minato loosely crossed his arms, not seeming to take any offense. "Now there's been a _lot_ that's gone on since the last group meeting and it would take hours to rehash all of it. I'll say that from looking around, all of the children seem to be around the age of twelve and there haven't been any growth spurts since April 23rd, when the marriages had lasted for a complete week. I've heard that some children have been showing capabilities at ninjutsu and inheriting kekkei genkai. With that said, I think its safe to say that the children should be able to join the Academy and become Konoha ninjas."

"YEEEEAAAHHH!" Kana howled deafeningly, while Hikaru had screamed, "YEEEEES!" and jumped onto his father for a hug. At the moment, Hikaru did have a mask similar to his father's, only his was pulled down to hang around his neck like a turtleneck. He also had a book sticking out of his pocket, it wasn't Icha-Icha Paradise however.

Sora pumped her fists and grinned at Mika who gave her a high-five, while Miki's cold face had broken out into a wide toothy Naruto-esque smile, he looked up at his father cheerily, who gave him a nod and a nice pat on his son's shaggy red hair. Tsubasa was the only one who didn't react wildly or happily, she just leaned her head against Neji's arm and her other hand touched Sasuke's thigh, who took her hand gently. Tsubasa was the shortest of them all, while Sora was the tallest girl, probably inheriting her height from her father who was the tallest husband.

"Now," Minato looked at the clock at the wall, checking the time before looking back at the families. "Tsunade will be performing health check ups on the six children, seeing about their overall development, however Ibiki will be conducting the intelligence evaluations. So before we do that, I think there should be one last revealing," his blue eyes centered on the six children. "And that's that these children learn the truth of their parentage and birth."

The adults either gasped or held their breath, but it was Sora who said softly, "You mean the experiment, right?"

Tsubasa tilted her head. "What experiment?"

"I think I heard the word _experiment_ too," nodded Hikaru, glancing at Kakashi. "I can't spell it though."

"You can't spell anything," said Kana matter-of-factually but then he went on, "I didn't hear anything about an experiment. What's an experiment anyway?"

"I'm trying to tell you," said Minato before Mika could finish opening her mouth to add on. "On April 12th, the ten men behind you,"

He was immediately cut off by a chorus of denials.

Sora protested, "My mom is a girl!"

Kana also said, "I know my Mom is a girl! Kiba has to be girl!"

Tsubasa nodded firmly and glared at Minato. "You're telling stories sir! My mother Neji is a woman through and through!"

Shikamaru, Kiba and Neji all glanced at each other. None of them ever told their children explicitly that they were woman but they never told them that they weren't either. Personally, Kiba felt he looked masculine, he had sharp teeth and slit eyes, his voice was rather rough in timbre. Besides, his breasts were long gone. What about him made Kana think he was a female? Shikamaru could understand why Sora thought he was a woman, he was very motherly towards her, he was slender and smooth-faced. Also he looked the complete opposite of the very manly in appearance Asuma, who had grown back his beard and he went back to smoking, he was tall and heavily-muscled. Neji was confounded, in fact, him and Sasuke looked very similar to each other. Dark hair, white skin, Sasuke was only an inch or so taller than him and neither of them were very muscled, more on the lithe sleekly toned side.

Minato sighed and said, "They are all men. All ten of them are men, just as much as I am a man. Except for Naruto, she's my daughter. Anyway," he continued even though Naruto was giving him a high-powered glare, "on April 12th, the ten men all took part in an experiment orchestrated by a man named Orochimaru, who is currently in a jail cell for multiple crimes, as well as his partner Kabuto. The experiment was called the Male Pregnancy Serum and it involved gathering several ingredients to cause a pregnancy in men. Shikamaru Nara, Iruka Umino, Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze, Kiba Inuzuka and Neji Hyuga were all impregnated by the serum. At the time, no one know who the fathers were, though we were aware of the other five men who had taken part in the experiment, names Asuma Sarutobi, Kakashi Hatake, Gaara Subaku and his older brother Kankuro Subaku and lastly Sasuke Uchiha. After you six were born, we ran blood tests and found out who your fathers were. After that, I ordered that the ten men to get married for the sake of the children. And that is how you six were created, born and how we got to where we are today."

The children were for once silent, not saying anything.

Then there was a short shaking gasp and it was Hikaru who started to cry, loud desperate wails.

Kakashi knelt by Hikaru who was covering his face as he broke into sobs, he sounded completely heart-broken. "I-ah-I'm n-uh-not hu-uh-muh-man! I-ah-ah-I'm j-juh-just a-ah-a SCIENCE EXPERIMENT!" He bellowed the last and tried to run but Kakashi grasped him and pulled him to his chest.

Everyone else brought their children close to them, Mika had started to cry too but not as obvious, just small shuddering sniffles. Kana was holding his head, his eyes intense on the floor, his body tensed up. Tsubasa was staring up at her parents with a stunned hurt expression, her mouth moved but no words came out. Miki's face was for once not blank, but now scarily hardened with an inner rage. He turned his back on his parents, electric green eyes bored at the wall. Sora looked up at her father, and paled when he just nodded at her.

"Calm down Hikaru," Kakashi rocked the struggling boy in slow gentle motions, his hands were kind but firm as he held him. "Just calm down. You're not just a science experiment, you're my son. Your name is Hikaru Hatake. You have parents, Iruka Umino and Kakashi Hatake. You were born, alive and well from your mother and raised at home. There's nothing about that that's a science experiment. Just calm down, stop crying, are you listening?"

Hikaru nodded, gasping for air, his small chest heaving and his face soaked.

"Good boy," Kakashi held out his hand and Iruka handed him a tissue that Kakashi then used on Hikaru's face. "Now listen here Hikaru, I have a very easy way to show you that you're human. Ready?"

Hikaru nodded, his black eyes still swimming with tears.

Kakashi pulled a kunai out of the pack on his waist. Everyone's stomach clutched, the wives nearly screamed but Kakashi slit his thumb, a droplet of red blood oozed out. "You see this? This is blood, nice red human blood. When you cut yourself, red blood will come out. You're human Hikaru, because you bleed the same blood I do. My blood runs in your veins, understand?"

Hikaru was still sniffling but nodded and took the kunai, his hands were shaking at first but Kakashi held his wrist still. "Just be gentle, you don't have to stab yourself. Just a tiny cut will do. Go ahead."

Hikaru took in a deep gulp of air, steadied himself, then ran the tip of the knife over his thumb. His skin parted and thick black fluid trickled out.

Hikaru screamed then fainted, Tsubasa also fainted with a soft sigh. Sora buried her face into Shikamaru's chest, refusing to look or believe. Kana pissed his pants, his face frozen in fear. Miki backed away from the black droplet that was stained on the carpet, Mika covered her mouth but it was too late, she vomited, smearing the sick on her face and hands.

For a good while, the Fourth Hokage waited as the children were cleaned, comforted and eventually calmed down. Minato understood that the children were upset at the truth of their birth but he hadn't expected that they didn't have _blood_. What was that viscous black fluid?

He glanced at Tsunade who was juggling six folders, a file for each child, trying to find Hikaru's to write it down. The door opened, Ibiki had arrived, his scarred face held hard as always. "Reporting for duty Hokage."

"Good timing Ibiki," said Minato, standing away from leaning on the desk. "I'd like this to go in a cycle. Tsunade, you can take Hikaru first for the health evaluation, then give him to Ibiki. Then the twins, then Tsubasa, Sora and Kana. Everyone clear? You can wait in a meeting room until its your turn. That's it on my end."

The families feeling vaguely disconnected from Earth, stunned and unhappy, were shuffled out to a large meeting room, then the Hatake family was whisked away.

"So that's it?" Naruto looked up at Gaara, whispering quietly so Miki and Mika couldn't hear. "Are the children really…not human?"

Gaara saw how the twin's ears pricked, he knew they could hear. Also the other children were all staring at them, even from different sides of the room, everyone could hear. He said clearly, "They're superhuman, in my mind. More than just human. Able to grow at an exponential rate, naturally able to harness chakra and perform jutsus without teaching, activating kekkei genkai's at a young age and will probably master them quickly. In my mind, the children are going to be a new race of…super ninja."

Kana was the first one to start smiling then Miki started looking just a tad bit more excited. Mika, Tsubasa and Sora all still looked upset.

Everyone liked Gaara's idea of things, but it was really best to wait to hear the results of the examinations and learn the truth. Even if they were afraid of what the answer might be…

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What do you guys think? Starting out good enough for ya? Hit me up with a review and let me know, love it or hate it? I don't know when the next chapter is coming, so hold on! See you when I see you!


	2. The Evaluation 1: Hikaru Hatake

_The Hatake's_

Hikaru had succumbed to tears once they had entered the examination room, which looked more like a science lab than anything else. There was one steel examining table that was equipped with thick buckles for restraining the feet, legs, arms, chest and head. The one window had bars on it, while there were several white tables that were piled high with beakers, tubes and lots of papers. Two file cabinets and a small table that held many silver painful looking instruments.

Iruka and Kakashi could understand and sympathized with why Hikaru immediately began to cry again, if they were his age they might cry seeing this place. It was creepy as heck.

"Its okay," assured Tsunade, placing her stack of folders down. "Trust me, this isn't my regular room and neither myself or Ibiki will be using half of the stuff in here."

"Who's room was this then?" Iruka picked up Hikaru and sat him down on the table then used his sleeve to clean the boy's wet face. "Why can't we be in your room?"

"This is Orochimaru's old office, separate from the one at the school." Tsunade got out Hikaru's folder. "I've been slowly and tirelessly going through all of his notes and files and folders to see if there's anything that can help me out there. I hate feeling like I don't know anything, especially seeing after every time I make a theory it gets debunked. I need to feel grounded, sure of myself."

"My blood is black!" Hikaru suddenly bust out, his chest heaving, eyes stark. "You can't say I'm human! I'm not human! I don't have red blood!"

"I'm sure you are human," said Tsunade, snapping on Latex gloves up to her elbow. "And that's because when I took your blood when you were a baby to get a paternity test, your blood was ruby red, bright and shining. I don't know why you just bled black right now and I'm determined to find out. Okay?"

Hikaru's eyes went wide and some hope shined. "I had red blood? When I was born, I was human?"

"You're still human Hikaru," Kakashi insisted, now regretting he told Hikaru that being human meant having red blood. It looked like his words really effected his son, because now Hikaru didn't think he was human anymore. "Trust us, you've always been and forever will be human, red blood or black, okay?"

Hikaru didn't respond but to sigh heavily, his shoulders slumped and his young face deeply depressed.

Iruka put his hand on Hikaru's shoulder, not saying anything as Tsunade came over with a needle, clearly to draw Hikaru's blood. His heart pumped faster, this was it. Would Hikaru's blood be red or black? He believed the same as Kakashi, that his son was human. Still, what was with the black fluid back there? Would the other children have black blood as well? What did it mean?

Tsunade cleaned Hikaru's arm with a wipe, at the bend of his elbow. Hikaru turned his face into Iruka's chest, his body clenching up. Kakashi was staring where the needle was slowly entering underneath Hikaru's skin, puncturing his vein. He knew damn well that his son was human, black, red or blue blood, he didn't care _what_ color. Hikaru was his son, period.

Tsunade slowly pulled back the plunger and easily bubbling up in the barrel was bright red blood.

"Come on Hikaru, look!" Iruka turned Hikaru's head so he could see the red blood Tsunade was transferring into a test tube from his arm. "See, its red! Red as day!"

Hikaru watched and his face lit up happily. "Its red, its red! I _am_ human! I must be!"

Tsunade however was frowning. "Why was it black earlier? I'm…" She put the blood down then picked up a razor blade.

Hikaru made a high-pitched squeal and moved as if to dive off the table but Iruka and Kakashi held him still.

Iruka said, "Calm down Hikaru, you know she's not going to hurt you. And even if she was, do you think we'd just stand by and let her? We're right here Hikaru and as long as we're with you, nothing is going to happen to you. Okay?" He kissed the pale boy's forehead and stroked his thick gray hair.

Tsunade picked up Hikaru's thumb, the same thumb as before and slit open the cut he already had. Red blood dribbled out. Her brows furrowed very deeply.

Ibiki spoke up, his voice gruff, "There are many reasons why the child's blood could have appeared black. The lighting, the variations of nutrients or even how much oxygen was or was not. I personally believe it was a fluke. The color of his blood is clearly red. Why it seemed black no longer matters. I have five other children to give intelligence evaluations, so can we speed this along just a bit?"

Tsunade agreed, and she took Hikaru's blood pressure, his temperature, listened to his heart and breathing, got his weight and height, then gave him a series of inoculations against common illness like chicken pox and the measles.

"You're perfectly healthy Hikaru," she said in the end, closing her chart. "I don't know about the black fluid that came out of your thumb but I'd suggest not worrying about it. However if you see it again," she looked at the parents. "Please save it and bring me the sample immediately. Well, you're up Ibiki."

"Good."

Ibiki took a swivel chair and sat down in front of Hikaru. He cracked all his knuckles and said, "Let's begin. First, to you Iruka and Kakashi, you are not allowed to help him with his answers in anyway. Don't make faces, noises, sound effects or hand gestures. In normal cases there is no one allowed in the room but the tester and tested, so if you think you can't keep quiet, then I suggest you leave. Understood?"

"Understood," said Kakashi while Iruka nodded, knowing he'd have to work hard not to try and help. He was a teacher at the Academy, helping students learn was his job.

Ibiki looked at Hikaru, who was straightening up. "As for you Hikaru, yes I'm testing your intelligence but its not a race and you're not to try and impress me or outthink me. Just answer as truthfully as you can, you can take your time but if you don't have the answer then just say so and I'll move on. The questions aren't timed unless I say so otherwise. Are you ready to begin?"

Hikaru nodded, swallowing hard. "Yes sir, I'm ready."

Ibiki held his hand out and Tsunade handed him a chart and a stack of what seemed like large flash cards, they had pictures on them rather than words. The chart had Hikaru's name on it. Hikaru gulped loudly but stayed calm.

"Ok, we'll start with the Verbal Comprehension." Ibiki faced Hikaru, his scarred face stiff and unyielding. "First test, Vocabulary. Hikaru, define the word antidisestablishmentarianism."

Hikaru's jaw dropped, as did Iruka's. Kakashi thought _well damn. Whelp, my son is definitely going to fail this test. Nothing I can do about it._

Hikaru gulped and asked awkwardly, "A definition please?"

Kakashi covered his face with one hand but didn't speak. Iruka bit down on his lower lip, his eyes winced but he held back the urge to explain to Hikaru that _he_ was the one to give a definition. Hikaru clearly thought he was in a spelling bee, that Ibiki was asking him to _spell_ the word.

Ibiki blinked once and said, "_Define_ the word antidisestablishmentarianism. You tell me what that word means. Go on."

Hikaru's mouth moved soundlessly then he whispered, "I've never even heard that word before…"

Ibiki said, "Are you deciding not to answer? I can move onto the next question."

Kakashi wanted to say _just try_ and Iruka wanted to say _you are smart, you can do it_ but neither spoke like they had been told.

Hikaru writhed his hands together but said, "Well, in the beginning of the word is the prefix _anti_ which means against or opposite. Then I hear the prefix _dis_ which is also against. Then the word establishment which means to begin or open. So I think that word means against opening something."

Kakashi felt for his son, he tried so hard. Maybe the next question would be simpler. Iruka was very proud of Hikaru, he knew the word "prefix" which he hadn't taught him and the word establishment was very big for a kid who wasn't yet a month old, only twenty-one days. He would do fine, just fine!

"Alright," Ibiki put an X mark on his chart and asked next in his flat gruff voice. "Define the word flabbergasted."

Hikaru's eyes coasted from side to side, another word he didn't know. Kakashi thought this test was already unfair, what kid knows the word _flabbergasted_ it was old-fashioned and stupid sounding. He hadn't really had an opinion of Ibiki before but now he didn't like him. At all. Iruka did wonder who exactly chose these set of words to test the intelligence of _children_. He was an adult and had never heard someone use the word _flabbergasted_ in conversation, not even once.

Hikaru paused before saying, "Well, flabber sounds like gabber or jabber, which is talking a lot, so I think that word means when someone is talking too much and too fast." He brightened up with a loud laugh. "I guess I'm flabbergasted all the time! That word describes me perfectly!"

Kakashi barely managed not to groan. He knew Hikaru wasn't stupid, he couldn't be but did he inherit any type of brain at all? _No_ he wanted to shout. _Flabbergasted means to be amazed or astonished! Not talking too much or too fast! You're making things up, if you don't know then you don't know!_ Iruka was pleased with Hikaru, yes, he was wrong but he was using words he knew and making matches to try and help himself understand. That was a good technique and once Hikaru was in school he'd easily learn and be the top in the class.

Ibiki put down another X mark and asked next, "Define the word flummox."

Hikaru said, "Flummox? Sounds kinda like pummel. So I think flummox means beating someone up."

Kakashi nearly hit the floor. _Okay, I give in! You're stupid Hikaru, end of story! You're dumb as a rock! I'm glad Sakumo isn't here to see that I, his only son, gave him an idiotic grandson! Its okay Hikaru, I'll make sure you get all the special help you need!_ Iruka saw how Kakashi's body had tightened and he was shaking his head, his hand still over his face. He got annoyed with his husband, okay, fine, Hikaru had answered wrong three times in a row but they already knew vocabulary wasn't Hikaru's strong point. Iruka was positive once Hikaru was asked different questions he'd start getting things right.

Again with another X mark and Ibiki said, "That completes Vocabulary. Now we'll move onto the section Similarities. Hikaru, how are the words _know_ and _no_ alike?"

Hikaru said, "You just said the same word twice."

Kakashi had the very strong urge to just grab Hikaru and shake him hard. He wanted to scream, _NO! SON! PLEASE! THINK!_ Iruka was confused, if Hikaru liked to read so much, how come he was having such a hard time with words? Yet, Hikaru loved reading and he took it on himself to learn how to spell. Maybe Hikaru just knew that reading, words and spelling were difficult for him. He was just glad no one else was in the room to hear this. He had already seen Kana teasing Hikaru and he didn't want anyone else to start up either.

Ibiki said, "Is that your answer? I can move onto the next question."

Kakashi's knuckles cracked. _Why can't Ibiki at least try and explain Hikaru's confusion? If the boy can't tell that know and no are two different words, why not tell him then ask him to explain the similarity, which is the fact that they sound the same._

Hikaru looked upset then angry before saying, "Alright then. You said how are the _words_ alike, meaning even though it sounded like you said the same thing twice, you really didn't. You said two different words but the words just sounded exactly the same. That said, the words are similar because they're pronounced the same way. That's my answer."

Kakashi couldn't help it, he hugged Hikaru tightly, just for a moment then let him go and gave Iruka a wide grin, even though his mask you could tell how happy and proud the man was. Iruka grinned back at him and winked.

Ibiki said stiffly, "Kakashi, that's your first warning. Another outburst like that and you can wait out the rest of the testing outside the room. Clear?"

Kakashi nodded, "Clear." He was annoyed but he had been given newfound faith in Hikaru's intelligence. The boy was just a little slow, just a little but give him a chance and he stepped up. Hikaru just needed extra help but he'd be as smart as his old man in no time!

Ibiki put a check mark on the chart, then asked Hikaru, "How are the words splash and plash similar?"

Iruka bit his lip again. This one was kind of tricky. Of course Hikaru could say _they sound alike_ again or say _they're spelled nearly the same_ but in fact, splashing and plashing were exactly the same thing.

"Uh…" Hikaru sounded lost for a moment, then he said, "Well, they sound so similar, even what sounds like the same spelling, splash, plash, yeah, so maybe it's the same thing, just one has an extra letter because it's a bigger example. I mean, I know what splash is but I never heard of plash. So maybe splash is a really big splash and plash is a small splash. Get it?"

Ibiki paused then put a check mark on the chart. "How are the words auditory and aural alike or similar?"

"They both start with au," said Hikaru.

Kakashi was split. Yes, Hikaru was right about that _and_ he clearly could tell just by ear how the words were spelled, but he missed the real answer, which was the fact both words meant dealing with the ability of hearing.

Ibiki put down an X mark on the chart and said, "That completes Similarities and concludes the Verbal Comprehension. Now I'll start the section Perceptual Reasoning, beginning with Picture Concepts. Hikaru, I will show you a card, which has three rows of images on it. Out of each row, you are to pick a series of pictures that all go together. For example, if you pick out three images of a wheel, a pedal and a seat, you are saying they all go together to make a complete idea of a bicycle or whatever it may be. Let's begin."

Ibiki held up a large card, it had three rows of pictures. The first row showed a banana, a cat and a canoe. The second row was a cell phone, a car and a body of water. The last row was a fish tank, a steering wheel and a life jacket.

Kakashi knew the answer immediately but he also saw the tricks. The car and the steering wheel looked like they went together but they didn't have a third match. The cat and the fish tank looked promising, but again lacked a third match. The only answer was the canoe, the lake and the life jacket. But Hikaru had never seen those three things before, so how would he know that they went together? His poor kid, he'd never get it right.

Iruka had the same thoughts as Kakashi but he was sure that Hikaru would figure it out. Hikaru might be a little slow on the uptake but he'd get the right answer, if he just took his time and thought clearly.

Hikaru stared at the rows then asked, "So I can only take one picture from each row? Like, I can't say that the canoe, the car and the cell phone all go, because the cell phone and the car are on the same row?"

"Exactly," said Ibiki. "Pick one picture from each row so that the three pictures you chose all go together. Go ahead and pick. If you don't think you know, we'll move onto the next question."

Hikaru looked worried, scratched his chin then rubbed his knees, but he was gazing hard at the card, his eyes flicking between each row. Then his head slowly cocked to the side. "Well, first off, the banana doesn't go with anything, it's the only food on the card, so that's out. The cat doesn't go with anything besides maybe the fish tank but the fish tank doesn't go with anything either, so those two are out. That leaves the boat on the top row. So if we keep the boat, we have to chuck the cell phone because that doesn't go. And of course, the boat needs the water, so the car doesn't go. That leaves the steering wheel and that strange jacket. A boat…boats have steering wheels but that boat doesn't have a steering wheel, or sails or flags or anything. So that leaves that strange jacket. So I'll say the boat, the water and the strange jacket go together."

Kakashi wanted to hug him but Ibiki gave him a look and he managed not to. Yes, Hikaru didn't know the boat was a canoe and the _strange _jacket was a life jacket, but it didn't matter because he used the power of elimination to get the right answer and it was perfect. Maybe he hadn't been giving Hikaru enough credit.

Iruka clenched his fist but managed not to pump it in the air. Hikaru was very smart, he was, it just took him a little longer than other people. Besides, he got it right even though he didn't know the exact objects he was looking at. Once Hikaru was in the Academy, he'd fly by the other students in no time!

Ibiki put down a check mark. There were two more cards after that, then once Perceptual Concepts was over, he said, "Now we're moving onto Picture Completion. Hikaru, I'm going to show you a several pictures and in each picture, there is something that is missing a part. You must tell me what part is missing. However you can't just point to a spot and say so, you must identify by the word what is missing. So if a car is missing a wheel, say wheel. If a tree is missing a branch, say branch. Understand?"

Hikaru nodded and Ibiki held up a card. It was a picture of wrapped presents, a happy holidays banner and a star on the floor with a pile of tinsel and decorations. Hikaru blinked and said, "There's no Christmas tree."

Kakashi had no idea how Hikaru knew about Christmas, he was born in spring, there was no reason for him to know anything about the winter holiday. Iruka also wanted to know and decided to ask once the evaluation was over.

Ibiki nodded, put down an check mark and held another card. This one was of an kennel, it had leashes and collars and dog bowls, but no animals.

Hikaru said, "There's no dogs."

Ibiki put another check mark and held up a third card. It was the beach, with waves, the sun, beach chairs, volleyball nets and surfboards laying on the sand.

Hikaru laughed. "There's no people!"

Ibiki wrote a check mark then said, "That concludes Perceptual Concepts. Now we start the last section, Working Memory. First test is Digit Span. Hikaru, I'm going to orally give you a series of numbers and you are to repeat them back to me, either in the same order or reverse order as I request. I'm not going to repeat the numbers so listen carefully. Here's the first series of numbers, repeat them in the same order. Five, ten, fifteen, twenty, twenty-five. Repeat."

Hikaru repeated the numbers easily, a small smile on his face.

Kakashi thought, _okay, maybe he'll be good at a math. That's good but he didn't get it from me, I suck at math._

Ibiki put a check mark on the chart and said, "Repeat these numbers forward. Two, three, five, six, seven, eight."

Hikaru repeated them, not having any trouble.

Ibiki graded it with a check mark and said, "Repeat these numbers backwards. Five hundred, sixty-five, twelve hundred and fifty-two, one thousand and seventy-one."

Hikaru blinked at him and said, "Can you repeat those please?"

Ibiki just slowly shook his head from side to side.

Kakashi sighed in his mind. _Dammit, I get some hope then its snatched away. Really, why did I get strapped with the dumbest kid? Maybe he's not dumb but he needs to get to school, pronto. Iruka was right, education comes before ninja skills. I don't want Hikaru trying to throw a shuriken if he can't even spell it or count how many he freaking has in his pack._

Hikaru gulped but said, "One-seventy, thousand one, two-fifty and hundred twelve, five-sixty, hundred five."

Kakashi straightened his body so he didn't fall out on the floor. _Nope, no doubt about it. Hikaru is dumb, period._ Iruka was stunned. _Not only did he remember the numbers perfectly, he took Ibiki's words literally, that he wanted them completely backwards. Rather than reversing just the numbers, he reversed the order of the numbers too. Hikaru…he's incredible!_

Ibiki paused, his hand hovered over the chart. It was as if he didn't know whether to mark Hikaru wrong or right. After about a two second pause, Ibiki put a check mark with an extra slash through it, as if making both an check and a X. The parents figured that meant half credit.

Ibiki said, "Repeat these numbers backwards Hikaru. Sixteen, twenty-five, four, eleven, two hundred and ten."

Hikaru was quiet for a few moments then said, "Two hundred and ten, eleven, four, twenty-five, sixteen."

Kakashi's mind was blown. _Wait a minute! Why, why did he change his answers? He gave a retarded response last time but now he did it right? Hold up…is Hikaru an idiot savant?_

Iruka understood perfectly. Hikaru had seen how Ibiki graded him for the last question and changed how he answered this time, realizing he had been half wrong and half right. He realized that by reversing the order of the numbers was right but reversing the numbers themselves was wrong.

Ibiki nearly smiled, but he flattened out his lip before it took place and put a check mark. "That concludes Digit Span. One last test is the Letter-Number Sequencing. Hikaru, I'm going to give you a series of letters and numbers, in random order and you are to repeat them back to me in a way that the numbers come first in order of highest to lowest and the letters come after in alphabetical order. I will not repeat the series, so you must listen carefully. Are you ready?"

Hikaru nodded but he swallowed loudly.

Ibiki said, "15. B. 12. G. 19. K. 22. L. Repeat these with the highest number first, lowest number next then the letters in alphabetical order."

Hikaru licked his lips then said, "22. 19. 15. 12. B. G. K. L."

Kakashi let out a silent sigh of relief. _Well he's got this much at least._ Iruka smiled. _Good boy Hikaru._

Ibiki put a check mark. "Repeat this series Hikaru. 102. O. 189. M. 234. R. 890. D."

Hikaru's eyes went wide. He asked, "Could you repeat those please?"

Ibiki just shook his head, his face firm.

Hikaru winced then said, "Um…890. 234. 189. D. M. R." He immediately blanched. "I missed some, wait."

"No," said Ibiki, putting down an X mark. "You answered. One last series."

Kakashi had to hold back from shouting. _Hey! Let him fix his answer! He wasn't finished yet!_ Iruka gave Kakashi a calming look. Hikaru was young and those were larger numbers. And Iruka realized that Hikaru had forgotten the ones that Ibiki had said first. That was a normal mistake, an honest one. Hikaru was fine, he had made more check marks then X marks anyway. He did well, very well.

Hikaru looked put out but Ibiki said, "Repeat these series, remember, highest number first then the letters in alphabetical order. 1209. T. 2340. F. 1323. U. 1293. S. 4898. C."

Hikaru's jaw dropped to his chest, his eyes wide.

Kakashi flinched, nope, his son wasn't going to get that one. Even Iruka felt a little downhearted. That was a lot to remember, a whole lot.

Ibiki raised a brow as Hikaru didn't answer. "Are you dismissing this question? This is the end of the evaluation, so either answer or don't and this will be completed."

Hikaru's lips turned down then suddenly he pulled his mask up, hiding his lower jaw up to his nose. He said firmly, "I'm dismissing it."

Iruka was horrified and said, "Hikaru! How are you going to just give up without trying?"

Kakashi felt the same, "Hey, I know it was a tough question but you don't just quit. Try it, try and answer."

"Its too late," said Ibiki, putting down an X mark. "The evaluation is completed. Go back to the meeting room and tell the twin's family to come. It is their turn."

Iruka protested but Hikaru hopped off the table and quickly left, not looking back.

Kakashi went after him, highly irritated and Iruka hurriedly followed, hoping an argument wasn't about to break out.

In the hallway, Kakashi was snatching for Hikaru's arm but the younger boy kept dodging him, and then he flat out ran back to the meeting room, forcing his parents to run after him. Hikaru slammed into the room, shouting, "Twins, batter up!" Then he ran to the opposite side of the room, sat down on a chair and took out his book, hiding his face with it, despite the fact he already had his mask on.

Everyone stared at the Hatake family's dramatic entry, but Miki and Mika were standing up, they actually took hands, looking ready. Naruto and Gaara left with them.


	3. The Evaluation 2: Miki and Mika Subaku

_The Subaku's_

Mika went ice white at the sight of the testing room but Miki strode in like he owned the place. He unclipped his gourd and sat it down, it made a loud thunk, then he got up on the examining table, arms crossed and chin lifted. "Let's do this," he said, sounding as rough and ready as any gangster.

Naruto and Gaara came close and Mika held Naruto's hand.

Ibiki was at a desk in the corner, looked like he was reading over a chart. Naruto narrowed his eyes to focus his eyesight and saw Hikaru Hatake was written on it, along with the word SCORE on top. Oh…he was grading Hikaru's intelligence test. Naruto looked away, it wasn't really his business.

"Okay, Miki first then," Tsunade got his chart and first thing, picked up a razor. "Your hand please Miki, specifically your thumb."

Miki offered it then said, "Are you going to cut my skin? Because then I have to move my sand."

Naruto blinked but Gaara said, "When did you cover your skin with a layer of sand Miki?"

"The last time I was in the park," he said, glancing at his father with the same bright pupil-less green eyes. "I figured if you do it, I should too."

"Like father like son," smiled Naruto but he remembered one of the first times he saw Gaara with this protective layer of sand skin, and that wild crazed look in his eyes because Lee was hitting him fast enough to break it and physically touch him. Gaara had come a long way from being a psychotic murderer and he still hoped Miki wouldn't turn out like that too.

"Yes then please move it," said Tsunade, ready to make a small cut.

Miki's skin cracked then sand trickled off his thumb, hovering around Miki's wrist, waiting to be put back. Tsunade had in her other hand a small vial. She paused then sliced Miki's thumb. Thick black fluid seeped out and slid directly into the vial.

Mika screamed and collapsed against Naruto's legs in a dead faint, Naruto held her up and began to fan her face. Miki went shock still, his body frozen.

Tsunade capped the vial and put Miki's name on it, then put it to the side. "Okay Miki, I'm going to give your check up now."

"Hold on!" Gaara stepped forward, angry. "So you're just going to leave it at that? We don't even know what that fluid is!"

"Exactly," said Tsunade. "I don't know but I don't have time to start testing it now. I have a very good idea that each of the other children will also have that same fluid and I want as many samples as I can. However, the fact is, only the first cut does it because when I took Hikaru's blood a few minutes ago, it was red, not black. Also, I'm wondering if that fluid is only in the thumb, or if it comes from anywhere else. However I think its inhumane to start slicing children with razors all over their body, so I'll stick with taking it from the thumb. Now, just relax Gaara because none of these children appear to be sick or unhealthy. Let me do this, okay?"

Gaara was irritated but he stepped back and the parents watched as Miki got his temperature taken, his blood pressure, heart beat and breathing, weight and height, then his shots, which he had to move his sand for again. His attitude had greatly changed from being rough and ready to now he was quiet and sullen. The sight of that black fluid had done something to him that his parents couldn't really understand. Even though they were both Jinchūriki, they had never bled something other than red blood.

Mika was still unconscious and Tsunade slit her thumb, taking the black fluid that dripped out into a vial and putting her name on it. Then she woke Mika with a shot of adrenaline. Once Mika was up, Tsunade gave her a check up.

"They're both healthy," she said, smiling at the Subaku's. "And I'll have a report on the black fluid as soon as I've tested it. Ibiki, your turn."

"Alright," he came forward, with two charts and large flashcards. "There's three sections to this test and each section has two tests to it. Now because you are twins, I'm going to ask one question for Miki, he answers then I ask a separate question for Mika, then a last question I want you both to answer, the first one who speaks gets the point, alright?"

Naruto didn't like that. "So you mean you're trying to see which twin answers faster, who is smarter than the other?"

Ibiki said, "As the parents, you aren't allowed to try and help them with answers. You aren't to make any facial expressions, hand gestures or sound effects, no hugging or kissing. Usually with testing its only the tester and the tested, so if you think you can't keep quiet then I suggest you leave. Understand?"

Naruto didn't appreciate how Ibiki had completely ignored his question but Gaara put his hand on his arm and they both said, "We understand," almost like they were twins themselves.

"Alright. First section is Verbal Comprehension, and the first test is Vocabulary. Miki, then Mika, I'm going to give a word and you define it, tell me what the word means. If you do not know, you can dismiss the question and I'll move forward. Miki first. Define the word antidisestablishmentarianism."

Naruto said, "Okay, whoa! That's not fair! Who the heck knows that word, let alone a boy! He's only twenty-one days old!"

Ibiki looked at him firmly. "That's your first warning Naruto. If you do it again, you can sit outside for the rest of the examination. Miki, answer. You can take your time but if you don't know, you can dismiss it then I'll move on."

Miki's jaw clenched, he looked angry then said, "It sounds like…being anti…or against…towards disestablishment. So being against the breaking up of an establishment."

Ibiki put down a check mark on Miki's chart.

Gaara nodded, murmuring, "Good job Miki."

Ibiki gave Gaara a hard look. "That's _your_ first warning Gaara. Speak out again and _you_ can sit outside until the testing is complete. Understand?"

Gaara was irritated but said, "Understood."

Naruto took his hand and squeezed, realizing they'd both need help hindering their tongues. True Gaara doesn't talk that much but this was already painful.

"Mika," Ibiki looked at her. "Define the word flabbergasted."

Mika said, "To be very surprised or shocked." Her voice was peppy and sweet, sounding very much like how Naruto's Sexy Jutsu woman would be if she was a child. Gaara despaired when Mika would grow up and taken on that husky sexy coo. Not his daughter! If she started acting out and coming onto men he'd kill anyone who looks at her.

Naruto glanced at him warningly, feeling the suddenly dark intense aura surrounding his husband. Gaara pushed it down and focused on the task at hand.

Ibiki gave Mika a check.

Then he said, "Alright, this last question is for the both of you to answer. Whoever speaks first gets the point, _if_ he or she is right. If you're wrong, the other twin gets the chance to answer. Okay, twins, define the word flummox."

Miki frowned hard but Mika said, "To be extremely confused or baffled."

Naruto and Gaara were both shocked at how quickly Mika had answered, so fast! Naruto had noticed how eagerly Mika took to reading, before Miki had started but Miki hadn't taken a breath before Mika spoke up.

Ibiki gave Mika a check and Miki an X mark. Miki's eyes slowly narrowed into freezing cold slits but he didn't speak.

"That concludes Vocabulary, now we move onto Similarities. For this test, I will give two words and you are to tell me how the words are similar or alike. Miki first. How are the words _know_ and _no_ alike?"

Miki's voice was low and growly, "They're the same word."

Naruto had to squeeze his jaw shut to not say anything and Gaara had sealed his mouth with a strip of sand, they both squeezed each other's hand very strongly. If they had been holding someone's hand they would have broken bone but the two Jinchūriki were much stronger than anyone else and did not hurt each other.

Ibiki put an X mark on Miki's chart and continued, "Mika, how are the words _splash_ and _plash_ similar?"

"Splashing and plashing are the same thing," she said. "A plash is just a light splash or just the sound of a splash. They're also spelled very similar, just the addition or subtraction of the letter s."

Naruto was torn, because he was very proud that Mika was clearly very smart but that dark ugly look coming over Miki's face was starting to frighten him. Gaara felt the same and he was gathering his sand at the base of his feet and around his waist, readying to protect Ibiki should Miki attack him. He could feel the rage that was building up in Miki's aura.

Ibiki wrote a check mark on Mika's chart, then said, "Ok, this is for the both of you twins. How are the words auditory and aural similar or alike?"

Miki shouted, "EARS! HEARING!"

Mika clasped her ears. "Ow Miki you nearly deafened me!"

Ibiki gave Miki the check mark and Mika the X mark, now Miki smiled though it was rather grim and definitely a touch evil. Naruto and Gaara shared glances but didn't speak. Was Miki really going to be psychotic? But why? Gaara had his insanity broken when his uncle Yashamaru attempted to kill him, it was the final straw during his traumatic childhood. But Miki didn't have anything like that, his life had been very happy so far despite some ups and downs. Or was it simply that Miki was very competitive, like Naruto, only he was more violent-natured, kind of like Gaara.

"That concludes the Verbal Comprehension section. Now its Perceptual Reasoning and we start with Picture Concepts. I have three cards, each card has three rows of pictures. Out of each row, you pick one picture that as a whole will all go together to make a single image or idea. For example, if you get three pictures of a bowl, a collar and a chew bone, you're making the completely idea of a pet dog. So the first picture, Miki you answer. Second picture, Mika you answer. Then for the last picture, whoever answers first gets the point. If you're wrong, the other twin gets the chance. We clear?"

"Got it," said Mika while Miki nodded.

Ibiki looked at the parents. "Remember not to say anything, no sound effects or facial expressions or hand gestures. You two already have warnings, so do it again and you're out. Now, Miki, let's start."

Ibiki held up a large card with three rows of images, each row had three pictures. The first row showed a banana, a cat and a canoe. The second row was a cell phone, a car and a body of water. The last row was a fish tank, a steering wheel and a life jacket.

Miki was quiet, then said, "The cat, the water and the fish tank."

Naruto could see why he said so, the cat likes fish and fish live in the water. Made sense.

Gaara only didn't shake his head because he didn't want to be kicked out. Miki was wrong. The answer was the canoe, the water and the life jacket, they all directly made one single picture. The cat, water and fish tank weren't perfectly connected, not enough to be the answer.

Ibiki gave Miki an X mark. "Mika, your turn. Try this card." He reached for another card.

Miki's face reddened. "Why did you give me an X? That was right, it was right! Fish live in the water, they live in a fish tank and cats like to eat fish! It fits! I was right!"

Ibiki gave Miki a calm cool look. "I have many more evaluations to give and grade as well as I have the Fourth Hokage waiting on my results. I can't waste time by explaining this to you. Its Mika's turn now. After her, then you'll have a chance to make up the mark, understand?"

Miki crossed his arms tight, the parents could almost see the steam blowing out of his ears. His jaw gritted but he didn't scream or even attack Ibiki. He just jerkily nodded his head and didn't speak again.

"Good." Ibiki held up the card. The first row on the card was a bag of jelly beans, a pile of straw and a rake. The second row was sunglasses, a lawnmower and a bowl of ramen. The last row was a clothesline, a sofa and a pair of garden shears.

Naruto figured it was the jelly beans, the ramen and the sofa. Two were food and you sit on a chair while you eat. Definitely.

Gaara thought the answer should be the straw, the rake and the garden shears but the instructions said one picture from each row. This one was tricky.

Mika rubbed her forehead with two fingers before saying, "The first row I pick the rake. The second row, I pick the lawnmower. The third row, I pick the garden shears. These all have to do with gardening and upkeep of a lawn or landscaping."

Naruto and Gaara looked at each other, both stunned and kind of unnerved. Naruto personally didn't want his daughter to be so smart she was smarter than him, but only because it would be difficult to raise a smart-ass brat. She must have gotten her brains from Minato. Gaara was glad his daughter was intelligent, that would mean its easier to tell her something because she'd understand it right away, a plus when it comes to raising, but what if she got so smart she was trying to outthink and outwit him? That wouldn't be allowed.

Ibiki gave Mika a check mark. Then he said, "Okay, last one. Miki and Mika, you both answer. The first one to speak I'll give the point. If you're wrong, the next twin gets a shot. Ok, here."

Ibiki lifted up a card. The first row held a stack of textbooks, a full grocery bag and a dog collar. The second row had a picture with a ruler, a stick of chalk and an apple, then the next two pictures were a bicycle and a desk chair. The last row had a picture of a bookbag, a picture frame and a bowl.

Mika answered before anyone else could breathe, "The first picture in each three rows. It represents school, learning."

Miki stood up from the table, Gaara tensed to protect anyone from his attack but he just clipped his gourd on his back and headed to the door. Gaara covered the doorknob with sand. "Get back here right now."

"No," Miki faced his parents squarely. "I've had enough. Mika is smarter than me, clearly. If its not that she's smarter, she at least thinks quicker than I do or can problem solve faster than I can. She's barely made a single X, all of her answers are right besides _one_ time. I'm sick of sitting here and getting it rubbed in my face. I'm going back to the room, let Mika finish this stupid evaluation. You can tell the Fourth Hokage I'm dumb as a rock." He wrenched the door open, somehow sending Gaara's sand flying in all directions and he walked out, not looking back.

Gaara gathered his sand back to his gourd and said, "Naruto, stay with Mika. I'll go talk to him. Ibiki, don't grade the little you have on Miki, just put down his evaluation is incomplete. I'd suggest we let him try again, only this time alone."

Ibiki nodded and Naruto called out, "Be careful Gaara! If Miki attacks you…" he swallowed hard.

Gaara left quickly, saying, "I know and that won't happen."

Mika frowned, the conversation going over her head. However the two Jinchūriki knew exactly what they were talking about. They were afraid that with some training, Miki and Mika too eventually, would be stronger than their parents. So far Miki was showing it the most, with his excellent control over sand when not once had Gaara even shown him how. And now he was showing exceptional physical strength, strong enough to overcome Gaara's sand with _one hand_. Now couple that with Miki's short temper and his natural violent tendencies…he could be unstoppable.

This wasn't good.

Miki hadn't reached the room by the time Gaara caught up with him. Gaara took Miki's elbow, the boy pulled away but Gaara didn't let go. "We need to talk, privately, okay?"

Gaara steered Miki down the hall and into a stairwell, no one was there. "First, I want to say I completely understand how you feel."

Miki snapped, "How can you? You're not made to look stupid or crazy or like you don't know how to think or behave!"

Gaara blinked then said, "Miki, I've never told you about my past, have I?"

Miki stood up straighter, his eyes wide. "What…a past? As in…something bad?"

Gaara leaned on the banister, wondering how to put this lightly. Neither of the children knew that their parents are Jinchūriki, of their traumatic childhoods. Oh yes, Gaara knew exactly what it was like to look like he was crazy, unable to think like a rational human being or how to behave without murdering anyone who talked to him.

Miki placed a hand on his father's knee. "Dad? What aren't you telling me?"

"Gaara? Miki?" Naruto's voice called and the stairwell door opened. "Are you guys in here?"

"Miki!" Mika jumped on her brother and hugged him. "I wasn't trying to hurt you Miki and certainly not be snobby or something! You are smart, you are! You're smarter than me Miki! Look at how great you are controlling sand! Have you seen me control sand, even a little bit?"

Miki's brow cinched. "Well…no."

Mika put her hands on her hips. "That's right, you control sand so well you'll be better at it than Daddy! And you're really strong, didn't you see how you pulled the door nearly off its hinges? Have you seen _me_ do something like that?"

Miki slowly shook his head, but pride was lighting up in his eyes. "Nuh uh, not really."

Gaara sighed with relief that Mika was able to encourage her brother like that, maybe he wouldn't have to reveal his past after all. He looked to Naruto. "Did Mika finish the evaluation?"

Naruto shook his head. "No, she refused. Mika wanted to see her brother, not answer more mind-numbing questions. Her words, not mine."

Miki was struggling to get Mika off him, as she planted large wet sister kisses all over his face despite his loud complaints. Gaara said, "Well they have to finish, the Hokage wants his results."

"Okay you two, quit it," Naruto broke them apart. "Let's go ahead and finish the evaluations, okay? And we'll do it separately the way Miki wants it."

"No, its okay." Miki took a calming breath, his arm wiping off sister saliva from his cheeks and forehead. "I feel better now. Mika's right, I am smart. And I don't need some stupid government test to try and tell me that. I don't care if I make a million x-marks, I know my worth. I'll be great a ninja, just like my parents!"

Naruto hugged Miki and this time he allowed it, while Gaara rubbed his hair, it was shaggy and thick like Gaara's, but felt as soft as cotton, like Naruto's.

So the Subaku's went back to the evaluation room, where Ibiki was impatiently waiting for them. However he didn't ask any questions, he said, "Let's pick up where we left off. I'm assuming we'll go back to the Miki, Mika, both format?"

Miki nodded. "Yup." He took off his gourd and hoped onto the table, then took Mika's hands and helped her up, though she didn't really need help. Miki was only two inches taller than Mika but he was also the shortest of the male children. Gaara held hopes that Miki would grow tall, both of his grandfathers are tall.

"Okay then," Ibiki consulted his notes. "We've completed Picture Concepts, now we move onto Picture Completion. I'm going to show you a several pictures and in each picture, there is something that is missing a part. You must tell me what part is missing. However you can't just point to a spot and say so, you must identify by the word what is missing. So if a cat is missing a tail, don't just point at the blank spot, say tail. Or if a sky is missing the sun, say that there is no sun. Okay, ready? Miki first."

Ibiki helped up a card. It was a picture of wrapped presents, a happy holidays banner and a star on the floor with a pile of tinsel and decorations, like a star, lights and baubles.

Miki's face was dumbfounded. "Uh…what….?"

Naruto really wanted to speak up. _This isn't fair! Miki is a spring baby, he's never heard of Christmas! We haven't celebrated any holidays yet, let alone a winter holiday! He probably doesn't even know what snow is!_

Ibiki said, "If you don't know, dismiss the question and we'll move on."

Miki's fists clenched but he said, "It looks like…a celebration."

"It is," said Ibiki. "But there's a vital part of the celebration that's missing from the picture. Can you tell me what it is?"

Miki swallowed. "I see…decorations. Stuff to decorate something else."

Ibiki's eyes narrowed a centimeter. "Yes, now tell me what that something else is. What is the missing element in this picture?"

Naruto held his tongue but he really wanted to whisper, _its a tree_ to Miki. However, it was impossible for him to know that, there's no way he could possibly now.

"Uh…" Miki's eyes went wide. Then he blustered, "Lamp! Mantel! Flower! Plant! Bush! Tree?"

Ibiki gave Miki a check mark then said, "Okay, Mika's turn." Miki let out a sigh of relief.

Only Gaara's hand around Naruto's hand managed to stop the man from hugging Miki. Yes, Miki had figured it out but only by spewing out a bunch of random items possible to decorate and eventually actually hit the jackpot.

"Mika," Ibiki held up a card. "What is missing from this picture?" This one was of an kennel, it had leashes and collars and dog bowls, but no animals.

"Pets," said Miki.

"And last, for the both of you," Ibiki held up the last picture of a beach scene, complete with waves, a sun, beach chairs volleyball nets and surfboards laying on the sand.

"Sand," cheered Miki.

Ibiki gave him an X mark. "Okay, Mika your turn."

Miki blustered, "Hey, that wasn't my answer! I was just saying! There was sand _everywhere_! Clearly that wasn't my answer!"

"I asked a question and you said sand," said Ibiki tirelessly. "You answered incorrectly. Its Mika's turn. Mika, your answer."

"There's no people," she said softly, giving Miki a worried look as Ibiki gave her a check mark.

Miki looked to his parents. "Wherever that place is, I demand we go."

Gaara frowned. "Miki, if you stole the beaches sand, first of all you'd get in trouble and secondly, your gourd will be impossible to carry."

Miki's eyes lit up. "I don't want to steal it. I want to make the hugest sand castle in history!"

"You want that much sand, you should go to a desert," said Naruto dryly.

Ibiki coughed. "Back to the evaluation please? That ends Perceptual Reasoning, we now start Working Memory. The first section is Digit Span. I'm going to orally give you a series of numbers and you are to repeat them back to me, either in the same order or reverse order. I'm not going to repeat the numbers so listen carefully. Miki first, then Mika, then the last one you both try. Whoever is right gets the point. Ready? Miki, repeat these numbers forward: Two, three, five, six, seven, eight."

Miki looked vaguely insulted. "Two, three, five, six, seven, eight."

Gaara understood, it wasn't like he was a preschooler.

Ibiki gave him a check mark. "Mika, your turn. Repeat these numbers backwards, Five hundred, sixty-five, twelve hundred and fifty-two, one thousand and seventy-one."

Naruto only didn't say anything because Gaara warningly stepped on his foot, not hard but just a pinch of pain. _Now how is that fair? He asked Miki a simple question but Mika's is a lot harder!_

Mika's eyes went wide, but she said the numbers.

Ibiki gave her a check mark.

"Okay, last set. Repeat these numbers backwards, Miki first. Sixteen, twenty-five, four, eleven, two hundred and ten."

Miki said, "Ten, two hundred, eleven, four, five, twenty, sixteen."

Gaara winced and Ibiki gave him a firm look so Gaara managed not to say anything. Naruto sighed internally. It wasn't like he had ever sat down with Miki and taught him numbers, so maybe he didn't know some numbers went together, such as one hundred _and_ ten, not one hundred, ten or twenty-five, not twenty and five.

Ibiki gave him an X mark. "Mika, your turn."

Miki looked angry. "Whoa, what? Why'd I get an x-mark? I said the numbers, I said them!"

Ibiki was the one who looked annoyed now. "Look, Miki. I can't take the time to sit with you and explain why you get your answers wrong. If you really want any help, go to school, okay? Now, Mika. Your turn. Repeat the numbers backward, sixteen, twenty-five, four, eleven, two hundred and ten."

Mika said, "Two hundred and ten, eleven, four, twenty-five, sixteen."

Ibiki gave her a check mark.

Miki exploded, jumping up and stabbing a finger at Ibiki. "HEY! She said the same thing I said! The same numbers! You're a cheater, no, you're playing favorites! Yeah, Mika is a pretty girl and all but you're old enough to be her father! You're disgusting!"

Naruto couldn't help it, he bust out laughing. Miki thought Ibiki was playing favorites because he thought Mika was pretty? As if! Ibiki was as interested in romance as a dog was interested in fluid dynamics. He didn't care about anything but work.

Ibiki's face blushed red but it was just anger and insult. "Miki Subaku, you have one more outburst like that and you're outside for good and I'll give you failing grades for the rest of the evaluation. Now sit _down_ and shut _up_."

Gaara said warningly, "Watch your tone when talking to my son Ibiki. Miki, sit down and try to stay focused, alright? The fact is, you said twenty and five instead of twenty-five. You said one hundred, ten instead of one hundred _and_ ten, those are two different numbers, understand? Come on, let's finish this, there's three other children who need evaluating. Ibiki, continue please."

Ibiki wiped the sweat on his forehead with his arm, then said, "We're at the end of the test, this is the last section, Letter-Number Sequencing. I'm going to give you a series of letters and numbers, in random order and you are to repeat them back to me in a way that the numbers come first in order of highest to lowest and the letters come after in alphabetical order. I will not repeat the series, so you must listen carefully. Again, Miki first, then Mika, then you both try. Miki, repeat these with the highest number first, lowest number next then the letters in alphabetical order. Ready?"

Miki nodded, his face set hard.

Ibiki said, "15. B. 12. G. 19. K. 22. L."

Miki said, "15. 12. 19. 22. B. G. K. L."

Naruto clenched his fists so he didn't slap himself in the face. _Come on Miki! He didn't say to…UGH! Okay, maybe Miki just isn't too bright when it comes to the books, he must have gotten that from me. He'll be an amazing ninja though, that is clear. A ninja who needs special help. UGH!_

Gaara understood that Miki was just confused by the instructions, but at least he tried and that's what counted. He'd have to make sure to help Miki with his schoolwork once he entered the Academy.

Ibiki gave Miki an X mark. Miki's face was contorted, he was making loud grunting sounds as he struggled not to start screaming. Naruto realized that it wasn't that Miki had anger problems, he was just like himself! How many times did he as a child get enraged and start screaming once people looked down on him, or when enemies believed he was worthless. He had some troubles speaking without yelling too. Miki didn't like having his faults or his lack of smarts shoved in his face and it made him angry. Naruto would comfort him once the evaluations was over.

Ibiki said, "Mika, your turn. Repeat these, remember, the numbers in order from _highest_ to _lowest_ and the letters in _alphabetical_ order. 102. O. 189. M. 234. R. 890. D."

Mika nodded and said, "890. 234. 189. 102. D. M. O. R."

Ibiki gave her a check mark. "Alright, very last question. Twins repeat this series. Remember, numbers highest to lowest, letters alphabetical order. Also, I'm not going to repeat the series, so listen carefully. Also, if you don't know the answer, you can dismiss it and that'll end this evaluation. Ready?"

The twins nodded.

Ibiki said, "Repeat this series. 1209. T. 2340. F. 1323. U. 1293. S. 4898. C."

Naruto thought, _I dismiss this one!_

Gaara thought, _this is extremely unfair. What twenty-one days kid would be able to solve this? I'm eighteen and even I don't want to bother with this!_

Miki and Mika looked at each other then back at Ibiki. "We dismiss this."

"Okay," Ibiki gave them both X marks. "And that concludes this evaluation. Please go back to the room and tell the Uchiha's its Tsubasa's turn."

The Subaku's left the room, letting out heaving sighs of relief. Miki said matter-of-factly, "Well that test was complete bullshit. That guy Ibiki is an asshole."

Naruto stumbled and would have hit the floor if Gaara didn't hold him up. The parents looked at the bad mouthing preteen. "WHAT did you just say?"

Miki blinked at them. "That test was complete bullshit. That guy Ibiki is an asshole. What? You didn't hear me the first time? OW!" Miki held his pulsing lip. "Dad! You said hitting was wrong!"

"Yeah, excessive hitting is wrong and hitting because you're angry is wrong," said Gaara. "But as a parent, I hit you in the mouth to teach you a lesson. Don't talk like that around your mother or your sister. Keep it clean, okay?"

Naruto protested. "Gaara! He shouldn't talk like that at all!"

Gaara shrugged. "Its his mouth, he should be able to curse if he wants to. Just not around you or his sister, he'll be polite. Got it?"

Miki nodded and licked the lump on his bottom lip. It slid away, leaving his lip as clear and smooth as before. Gaara and Naruto caught eyes. Not only was Miki extremely strong, he just healed in a matter of seconds. The Jinchūriki heal that fast because of their inner tailed beasts, but Miki didn't have a tailed beast or…did he? Tsunade once mentioned the Kyuubi leaving to get his own body, then Minato said the Ichibi and Kyuubi mixing. Was it possible? Did the two tailed beasts effectively _mate_ and give Miki his own inner beast? And what about Mika? She hadn't shown much prowess with jutsu, besides making a few shadow clones. How much more did they _not_ know about their own children?

Mika opened the door and walked in, she smiled nicely at Tsubasa. "Its your turn. Don't worry, its easy as _hell_." With that, she skipped over to Hikaru. "Hi, what are you reading?"

Neji and Sasuke stood up, they both took Tsubasa's hands and walked out together.


	4. The Evaluation 3: Tsubasa Hyuiha

_The Uchiha's_

Tsubasa whined once they were in the room. It was pretty drastic, with the strapped table, the strange painful looking instruments, even the singular window with the bars on it.

"Ew! Yuck! What is this place! Gross!" She turned to walk back out but Sasuke picked her up then sat her on the table.

"Sit," he said firmly when she moved to get up. "Tsunade, I do agree, what's with this choice of location?"

"This is Orochimaru's old research room," said Tsunade, holding a chart that held Tsubasa's name on it. In the corner at a desk was Ibiki, clearly grading papers. Both Neji and Sasuke had superior vision, able to see the chart with Miki's name on it was covered in X marks. Sasuke couldn't help but smirk. _Stupid Naruto, stupid child._ Neji also wasn't surprised but he did see Mika's chart had a lot of check marks. He smiled. _Tsubasa is going to get straight passing grades. With geniuses like myself and Sasuke as her parents, she's no doubt the smartest child out of the bunch._

"Alright," said Tsunade. "Before I do anything else, I'm going to do this." Tsunade held up a razor.

Tsubasa screamed and dove to hide behind Sasuke, not before the room saw her eyes change a vivid red. She didn't have the tomoe markings of the Sharingan but that was the Sharingan color no doubt.

Neji clasped her close to him. "Tsunade! What's the meaning of this?"

Tsunade's lips twisted. "Honestly, do you think I was about to slit her throat or something? I want to cut her thumb, that's all. Its just a test."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "A test of what? If she has pain nerves?"

"No," said Tsunade. "To see if she has black blood like Hikaru. And maybe I shouldn't say this, but when I slit both Miki's and Mika's thumbs, they both also had the same black fluid. I'm positive Tsubasa has it too, but I have to be sure and I have to be able to test it. So if you please?"

Neji helped Tsubasa back onto the table, laying her back. Tsubasa over her eyes with one arm, not looking. Tsunade held the razor and a vial. She slit open Tsubasa's thumb and a thick black droplet rolled out into the vial. Tsunade capped it and wrote Tsubasa's name on it, then took it away.

Tsubasa sat up and looked at her thumb, which was now bleeding red. She sucked on it, pouting.

Tsunade came back and started the health check, taking Tsubasa's temperature, her breathing, her heartbeat, measured her height and weight but when she came at Tsubasa with a needle, Tsubasa tried to hit her. Sasuke caught her wrist and revealed her hand was held with the fingers pressed tightly together and pointed.

Neji gasped. _The Gentle Fist style. She's already learning it? But I didn't teach her, and neither did anyone else._

"Calm down Tsubasa," said Sasuke. "She's going to give you a shot, it won't hurt."

"Just a little pinch," said Tsunade, curious at how quickly Tsubasa reacted. Once she saw the razor, she fled, but Tsunade didn't make any motions to cut or attack her with it, but she immediately ran. Also with the needle, there's no reason for Tsubasa to fear the needle it wasn't like she had seen one before, but her first reaction was to try and defend herself. Also, again with the eye change. Was Tsubasa somehow predicting the pain before it happens? But the Sharingan wasn't a predicting technique, it was a copying technique, copying extremely fast. So was Tsubasa naturally reading the razor and needle as weapons and instinctively reacting based on the fight-or-flight response?

Neji kissed Tsubasa's face, then held out her arm. Tsubasa whined and pulled away but Tsunade stuck her with the needle and gave her the shot, saying, "See? That wasn't so bad. And just a few more." Tsubasa pouted heavily while she got her shots, but she didn't cry.

"Ok she's healthy," said Tsunade. "Ibiki, you're up."

Ibiki stood up from the desk and picked up a chart that had Tsubasa's name on it. He sat down in front of her, he looked really tired.

Neji said, "Do you want to finish the evaluations later? Or maybe tomorrow? Three today and three tomorrow?"

"No," said Ibiki. "The Hokage wants his results, today is the only day. Besides, I'm fine. Its just that Miki Subaku is a handful. He's worse than his parents combined. He'll turn their hair gray before the month is out, if not sooner."

Sasuke's brows went up but he wasn't really surprised. Neji kind of figured that, having the hotheaded Naruto as a mother and Gaara also wasn't always the calm nice guy he is now. He must have inherited their wild personalities in spades.

"Okay, Tsubasa," Ibiki faced her. She slid her eyes away from him and put her thumb in her mouth. Sasuke put her hand down. She snatched her hand away from him and stubbornly put her thumb back in her mouth, sucking on it in a bored way, her eyes not meeting Ibiki's.

"Tsubasa," Sasuke plucked her hand down. "Enough. You may be almost a month old but you're not a baby anymore either. You look like twelve, so act like it. No more thumb sucking, understand?"

Tsubasa jerked at his hold but he didn't let go. "Stop it! Leave me alone! Let me go! Stop!"

Ibiki pinched his brow, sighing.

"Tsubasa please," Neji tried to pacify the situation. "Please stop whining and pay attention to Ibiki, okay? Can you do that? You can suck your thumb while you sleep if you want, but not when you're awake. Come on, be a big girl, okay?"

"Nuuuh~!" She whined and tried to lay down, using her other hand to put her thumb in her mouth.

Neji sat her up then took that hand, holding it securely, while Sasuke was holding her other hand. "AAARGH!" Tsubasa full out screamed and threw herself back on the table, kicking her legs and bucking her body, throwing a complete tantrum because her parents wouldn't let her suck her thumb.

Neji was mortified._ Oh Great Kami, she really is spoiled! When she was a cute little baby I just held her all the time, fed her and let her sleep, her life was being catered to. But when she realized she couldn't walk, she made herself grow up so she could. However that's just her body, physically she is at the size and age of a twelve year old but mentally…she's still just a whiny baby!_

"Tsubasa dammit!" Sasuke jerked her daughter to sitting up. "You stop that right now young lady or I'm banning you from television! No more Blue's Clues for you, no more Barney or Sesame Street or any of it! Got that?"

Tsubasa whimpered, "No…but Daddy!"

"No buts!" Sasuke crossed his arms. "Now you stop acting out and pay attention or you can't watch television for two weeks! I'll make it longer if you whine even one more time, understand?"

Tsubasa nodded, her lower lip rolled out almost to touch her chin. "Yes sir."

Ibiki sighed heavily. First he had to deal with a loud-mouthed Miki, now he's got the whiny princess. And he still had two more kids after this. Good Kami, why did it have to be _him_?

"Ok," he sighed and started. "Let's begin. First, Sasuke and Neji, you are not allowed to help Tsubasa with her answers in anyway. Don't make faces, noises, sound effects or hand gestures. In normal cases there is no one allowed in the room but the tester and tested, so if you think you can't keep quiet, then I suggest you leave. Understood?"

Neji and Sasuke nodded, they weren't worried, even though Tsubasa acted out a little just then, she would get everything right easily, she was going to be a genius just like her parents.

Ibiki looked at Tsubasa, who's eyes were focused on the floor, she was swinging her legs back and forth, flexing her toes in her white slippers.

Sasuke nudged her. "Tsubasa, give Ibiki your attention."

She sighed and glanced at Ibiki, her pale lavender eyes held his for a second before she looked away again. Written all over her face was boredom and disinterest.

Ibiki said, "Ok, Tsubasa, I'm evaluating your intelligence, but that doesn't mean you're supposed to try to race to get the right answer or to think ahead of me. Just answer the questions to the best of your ability and if you don't know, you can dismiss them and I'll move on. Are you ready?"

Tsubasa yawned and covered her mouth, then nodded without saying anything.

Neji could only mentally kick himself in the pants for not teaching Tsubasa _anything_. She was the size of a twelve year old with the mental and emotional range of a two year old. He let her watch educational TV shows, she liked them and it couldn't hurt any. Clearly it _did_ hurt…a lot.

"We'll start with Verbal Comprehension, and the first section is Vocabulary. Tsubasa, I'm going to give you a word and you are to define it, or tell me what it means. Tsubasa, the first word I want you to define is antidisestablishmentarianism."

Tsubasa yawned again and said, "I dismiss it. Next."

Neji stuttered, "W-what? T-su-Tsubasa! You didn't even try!"

Ibiki gave her an X mark. "Alright, next question."

"No wait!" Sasuke said, "Ibiki, give her another chance! She's just nervous, that's all."

"No," said Ibiki firmly. "She answered. Tsubasa, define the word flabbergasted."

Tsubasa leaned back as if to lay down again but her parents sat her up. "RUGH!" She pulled away from them, trying to lay down again but they wouldn't let her. "Stop it! I'm tired! I want a nap! Let me nap!"

"Not right now Tsubasa!" Neji was getting upset now. "You're taking a test, you have to pay attention. You can have a nap later!"

"NO!" She shouted. "Nap NOW!"

Sasuke wanted to give the princess a nice slap on the face but Neji would be furious at him if he did that.

"Alright Tsubasa," he said. "No television for a two weeks. And if you act out again, it'll be a month. So get your act together. Answer the question!"

Tsubasa sighed. "Uh…fine. Its like, being surprised."

Ibiki gave her a check mark. "Define flummox."

Tsubasa yawned and leaned against Neji, tucking her face on his chest. Neji wanted to hold her but he instead pulled her away so she was sitting up. Her face tightened, her lips pinched angrily. Then she hit Neji in his abdomen, her hands were small and her fingers pointed, but there was no chakra behind the blow, luckily, because she would have paralyzed his diaphragm if it had.

"Ow," he muttered, rubbing the pain. He was also completely shocked that his daughter had turned on him like that. _Since when was Tsubasa so violent? And who did she get it from? Surely not me or Sasuke! Good Kami, what have I DONE?_

Sasuke took her hand and slapped it hard.

Tsubasa's face slowly reacted. Her eyes winced, her mouth opened and her nose wrinkled. Then she sobbed. "OW! You hit me! You're mean! Mommy! Mommy! Daddy hit me!" She hugged Neji, crying.

Neji glared at Sasuke. "Really Sasuke? What did you hit her for? Just because she hit me doesn't mean we hit back! That's kindergarten thinking!" _And so reveals where Tsubasa got her violent tendencies from. What an idiot!_

Sasuke's mouth snarled. "She acts likes she has no home training Neji! She tried to hit Tsunade and now she hit you! I hit her and I was about to tell her off before she started crying like a baby!"

Neji shot back, "She IS a baby Sasuke! Maybe her body is more grown but her mind didn't make the same journey! Babies don't understand pain Sasuke, that's not going to help her learn!"

With the parents arguing and Tsubasa wailing, the noise was incredible. Ibiki's head was throbbing, Tsunade had her hands over her ears.

Neji stopped talking to Sasuke and instead turned to comforting Tsubasa, eventually coaxing her out of crying. He knew he'd need to talk to her about not hitting, but right now wasn't the best time. "Come on Tsu-Tsu, answer the question. Ibiki, can you ask again?"

Ibiki's voice was flat and tired. "Define flummox."

"I dismiss it," pouted Tsubasa, not even looking at him.

Sasuke protested as Ibiki gave her an X mark. "Ibiki! Give her another chance!"

"That's your first warning Sasuke," said Ibiki. "You talk out of turn again and you can sit outside."

"I'm not going anywhere," growled Sasuke. "And I want you to give Tsubasa a second turn! She's only saying she dismisses it because she's tired! If you let her-"

Tsunade cut him off. "Enough Sasuke. Ibiki is being fair and treating every child the same way. None of them got a second chance to answer questions, so neither does Tsubasa. Ibiki, continue."

"Now we move onto Similarities," said Ibiki, his voice was drained and emotionless. "Tsubasa, how are the words _know_ and _no_ alike?"

Tsubasa rubbed at her eyes, yawning again. "I dismiss it."

Now Neji was getting mad. "Tsubasa! You didn't even try!"

Ibiki gave her an X mark. "Next question. Tsubasa, how are the words _splash_ and _plash_ alike?"

"Sound the same," she leaned back as if to lay down but her parents put their arms behind her back, forcing her to stay sitting up.

Ibiki gave her another X mark. "Tsubasa, how are the words _auditory_ and _aural_ alike?"

Sasuke gave Tsubasa a very hard stern look, his eyes daring her to just dismiss the question. Tsubasa's eyes screwed closed and she cried again. "Mommy! Daddy is glaring at me! He's being mean! Mommy!"

Neji hugged her and patted her head then said firmly to Sasuke, "Stop it Sasuke! She doesn't understand!"

"Well why do you think?" He shouted at him, frustrated. He had expected his daughter to be the smartest and best out of all the children, she had excellent parentage and lineage, there was no reason for her to be acting like this. OH yeah, there WAS and that was because Neji had raised a spoiled brat! "You gave her everything she wanted Neji, she ate when she wanted to eat and she slept whenever she wanted to sleep and she watches TV all day! The way she acts is YOUR fault!"

Neji stopped hugging her to square off with Sasuke. "MY fault? Oh, right! And what about YOU Sasuke? What help did you do? Yeah, how about beating her? And forcing her to walk before she was ready! And just now you slapped her _hard_ on her hand! You're abusive!"

"_I'm_ abusive? Feeding her all the time and letting her sleep all day is abusive! You've turned her into a slovenly pig! A fat brat!"

"My daughter is NOT a pig _or_ fat!"

"But you can't deny that she's not a brat!"

They were each on opposite sides of the table, with Tsubasa stuck in-between. She had stopped crying to watch them yelling at each other. She faced Ibiki and said softly, "They both start with a."

Ibiki gave her an X mark. "That completes Verbal Comprehension. Now we start with Perceptual Reasoning. The first section is Picture Concepts. I will show you a card, which has three rows of images on it. Out of each row, you are to pick a series of pictures that all go together. For example, if you pick out three images of a collar, a food bowl and a dog, then you're making the complete picture of a pet dog, okay? Understand?"

Tsubasa nodded, the parents were still arguing, not even noticing that Tsubasa was paying attention now, or her slumped shoulders, her sad eyes.

Ibiki held up a card. The first row showed a banana, a cat and a canoe. The second row was a cell phone, a car and a body of water. The last row was a fish tank, a steering wheel and a life jacket.

Tsubasa didn't answer, instead she looked between her parents, who had stopped talking, just glaring at each other and breathing hard.

"Anyway," said Neji, turning away from Sasuke. "Right now she's being evaluated, so let's pay attention to that. I'll deal with you later."

"Deal with me?!" Sasuke looked angry but saw Tsubasa solemnly watching him, so he shut his mouth and didn't respond to Neji, though in his mind it would be _him_ dealing with Neji. That kid may be a year older than him but he's the one who needed a spanking!

Ibiki looked at Tsubasa. "Well? Do you dismiss it?"

Neji and Sasuke blinked, because the last they checked, they were on a vocabulary test. So why was Ibiki holding up a picture flash card?

Tsubasa sighed, "The cell phone, the car and the boat."

Ibiki gave her an X mark. "Let me remind you, only one picture from each row. The next one." He held up another card. The first row held a stack of textbooks, a full grocery bag and a dog collar. The second row had a picture with a ruler, a stick of chalk and an apple, then the next two pictures were a bicycle and a desk chair. The last row had a picture of a bookbag, a picture frame and a bowl.

Tsubasa rubbed her eye, she fought off a yawn and mumbled, "The last picture on the first row, last picture on the second row and the second picture on the last row."

Neji was baffled at her choices. _The dog collar, the desk chair and the picture frame? What type of connections is she making?_

Sasuke understood, the brat just made a random guess. She wanted to take a nap so she was just trying to get things over with. Oh he wanted to twist her head around. No child of his was going to be some sort of lazy bumpkin! Hell, he'll trade her out with Mika! He had seen she had made a rather high score, while so far his daughter had made straight failing marks with one solitary check mark.

Ibiki gave her an X mark. "The last one." He held up a card. The first row on the card was a bag of jelly beans, a pile of straw and a rake. The second row was sunglasses, a lawnmower and a bowl of ramen. The last row was a clothesline, a sofa and a pair of garden shears.

Tsubasa shuddered through a yawn and mumbled sleepily, "I dismiss it."

Neji sighed as she got another X mark. At this rate, she was going to get a result that she was stupid, when he knew she wasn't, she just wasn't trying!

"Tsubasa," said Sasuke. "Why don't you try, huh? Have you thought about that?"

Tsubasa looked at him. "Let me nap. Then I'll try."

Sasuke was stunned. "Whoa…are you trying to make a deal? Well no! Answer this now and nap later!"

Ibiki gave her an X mark. "Okay, now we start the section Picture Completion. Tsubasa, I'm going to show you a several pictures and in each picture, there is something that is missing a part. You must tell me what part is missing. However you can't just point to a spot and say so, you must identify by the word what is missing. So if a car is missing a wheel, say wheel. If a tree is missing a branch, say branch. Are you ready?"

He got a soft snore in response. Tsubasa's head had tilted down, her chin resting on her chest. She was somehow sitting up perfectly straight, besides her bent neck.

Neji shook her gently, her head lolled and she fluttered open her eyes, drowsy. She muttered, "I dismiss it."

Sasuke was ready to explode again. "He didn't even ask a question yet! Dammit Tsubasa, I-"

Neji glared at him. "Stop cursing at her!" He turned to Ibiki. "Look, let's let her take a five minute nap, okay? This evaluation is giving misleading results because she's too tired to answer clearly. Once she's more clearheaded she'll be better able to respond."

He laid Tsubasa down on the table, she was snoring again immediately.

Ibiki protested. "Now listen here Hyuga! I have a lot of work to do, understand? There's two more children I have to evaluate after this and I have to grade them, make a report and turn the results into the Hokage. And its not because she's so-called tired that she won't answer, its because Tsubasa _doesn't care_. She doesn't care about the evaluation and she's bored. That's the only reason she's trying to sleep, out of boredom. And the only reason she answered just a few moments ago is because your shouting made her uncomfortable enough to even try. Once you stopped arguing, she became bored again and as such, fell asleep. The child has no mental stimulation, nothing to do or to care about. She probably would rather sleep all the time because at least she can dream whatever she wants, rather than stay awake and be bored to death. Now wake her up and let's finish this."

Sasuke and Neji were stunned into silence. Ibiki…he really was an interrogator for a reason. He had seen straight into the heart of Tsubasa's problem, something neither Sasuke or Neji had been able to do. Tsubasa was _bored_, that was the entire deal. It was true, when she was awake she only woke up to eat then fell back asleep. Eat and sleep was all she really did, besides watching TV if she was awake in time. If family came over, she wanted to be entertained and if there was no entertainment, she went back to sleep. It was amazing she wasn't fat but she had inherited the slim physique of her parents and her body was sleek and lithe.

Sasuke and Neji looked at each other, then they both woke Tsubasa up. She stretched and yawned, then rubbed her stomach. "I'm hungry."

"Later," they said together.

Her eyes narrowed, nose scrunched up.

Ibiki said, "If you don't answer these questions, you'll never leave this room." His voice was completely deadened and it scared Tsubasa, add in the scars on his face and how his dark eyes were boring straight into her mind. He was serious. She sat up straight, gulping.

Ibiki repeated the instructions for Picture Completion but Tsubasa just dismissed all three of them in a row, her eyes heavy-lidded, her mouth downturned, she kept sighing. It was true, the child was incredibly bored.

Neji wondered if she was so bored because the test was boring, just answering random questions could get a little boring, though he didn't mind taking exams, or if it was something else, something deeper.

Sasuke wondered if Tsubasa was bored because the test was too easy. He hated taking exams that insulted his intelligence, so easy that a dummy like Naruto could get them right. Maybe that was Tsubasa's problem, she was just incredibly smart and everything was so easy she'd rather sleep than deal with it.

"Alright now we start Working Memory. The first test is called Digit Span. Tsubasa, I'm going to orally give you a series of numbers and you are to repeat them back to me, either in the same order or reverse order. I'm not going to repeat the numbers so listen carefully. Okay, repeat these numbers forward, Two, three, five, six, seven, eight."

Tsubasa's eyes were on the floor, she was swinging her legs again. She said tiredly, "Five, three, seven, six, two, eight."

Sasuke sighed heavily. "Tsubasa! You're supposed to repeat them in the same order he gave them to you!"

Neji realized it was true, what Ibiki had said. Tsubasa just couldn't be bothered to do the test properly. Whether it was because it was too boring or even because she was too smart for it, either way, nothing would make her give the test her honest attention. She didn't care, period.

Ibiki gave her an X mark. "Next. Repeat these numbers backwards. Five hundred, sixty-five, twelve hundred and fifty-two, one thousand and seventy-one."

Tsubasa yawned and asked, "Can I take another nap now?"

"NO," said her parents sternly.

Tsubasa moaned but said, "I dismiss it. Oh, I dismiss the next question too, so just jump ahead. Can't we finish this already? Yeah, I dismiss the rest of the exam. Goodnight." With that, she laid back down on the table and went to sleep, snoring quietly.

"Fine," said Ibiki and the parents watched in dismay as he X marked the rest of the chart. The entire chart was covered in X's besides just one singular check mark. Neither adult had _ever_ made such a shocking low score on any test and now their daughter, the titular Hyuiha, had failed remarkably on her very first examination.

"Go and tell the Sarutobi's that its Sora's turn," said Ibiki, standing up.

Sasuke whirled and left the room, swinging the door open and it slammed against the wall, but he was already gone.

"Thank you Ibiki, for your patience." Neji picked up Tsubasa, she wrapped her arms around his neck, her legs around his waist and snuggled against him, sleeping easily.

Ibiki gave a grim smile. "Just pray you learn to get some patience. Not only is she bored as heck, she's also extremely stubborn. You'll have a very hard time raising that one."

Neji smiled back weakly and left with his head down.

He met Shikamaru, Asuma and Sora in the hall. Sora waved and Neji realized the child came up to Shikamaru's neck, making her well over five feet tall. Shikamaru was only about five-five, so Sora had to be like five-three. That's huge for a twelve year old girl, isn't it?

Neji joined Sasuke in the room and sat with Tsubasa snoozing in his lap. Sasuke didn't look at him, his arms crossed and glaring at the floor.

Neji could only hope that Sora had a better time at it than his family had…


	5. The Evaluation 4: Sora Sarutobi

_The Sarutobi's_

Sora stalled for a second, seeing the room they were in but she just hopped onto the examination table without saying anything about it. Shikamaru wanted to speak up but if Sora was okay, then so was he.

Asuma's brow cocked up. "Tsunade, what's with this dump?"

The room wasn't child friendly in anyway, or adult friendly for that matter. There was only one window with bars on it, the examination table Sora was sitting on was buckled with restraining straps. The desks were covered in papers, beakers and other equipment, while on table was carrying a tray of what looked like torture devices.

Tsunade sighed. "This is Orochimaru's old room, I'm working out of here because I'm going through his files. I'll say one thing, this guy had serious issues. Okay, so first thing Sora, I want to slice your thumb with a razor, just to see what comes out."

Shikamaru stood up straighter, his stomach clutched with a painful jerk. "You mean if she has that same black fluid as Hikaru? What about the twins, and Tsubasa? Did they have it?"

Tsunade nodded. "Yes, they all did and I took it from their thumbs like Hikaru. I haven't gotten the chance to test it yet. Sora, your thumb please." She picked up a razor.

Sora shakily held out her hand, her eyes teary. Shikamaru took her other hand and he winced at the grip he got back, Sora still had soft skin but the strength she held him was like a steel vise.

Tsunade had a vial and placed it against Sora's thumb, then sliced her with the razor. A large black drop of black fluid leaked out and slipped into the vial, which Tsunade capped and wrote Sora's name on it. Sora's thumb bled red, as if the black fluid hadn't been there in the first place. Sora sucked on her thumb to ease the ache, then said, "I don't think that's blood Lady Tsunade. If it is, why would I bleed both black and red blood?"

"True," said Tsunade. "I'll figure it out once I get the chance in the meanwhile I wouldn't worry too much about it. The other children were healthy and I know you are too. Okay, let's get started on the health check up."

Tsunade listened to Sora's breathing and heartbeat, took her blood pressure and temperature, got her weight and height then gave her some shots.

"One hundred percent healthy," said Tsunade with a smile. "Ibiki, its your turn."

Ibiki was in the corner at a table, he had to be grading some evaluations. He stood and put his pen down, then came over with a chart that had Sora's name on it and a stack of flashcards. He looked tired, dark rimmed his eyes and his brow was creased.

Sora looked concerned. "Are you okay Mr. Ibiki?"

Ibiki nodded, sitting down in front of her table. "Yes, I'm fine. Okay," he rubbed his forehead for a second. "Shikamaru and Asuma, you aren't allowed to help Sora in anyway. So that means no sound effects, hand gestures, don't talk to her. She has to answer her questions on her own without any help. If you make any outbursts you get one warning then you have to sit out the rest of the test outside, understand?"

"Yes," said Shikamaru, Asuma said, "Got it. Besides, Sora won't need any help. She must have read all the books out of the library by now. Not to mention Shikamaru's been tutoring her in any subject under the sun. There's no reason she won't get all the questions right. For a twenty-one days old child she's got the mind of a twenty-one years old."

Sora gave him a cheery smile. "Thanks Daddy! I'll do my very best!"

Ibiki said, "Then if you're ready, let's get started. This evaluation has three tests and each test has two sections in it. We'll start with Verbal Comprehension, the section Vocabulary. I'll give you a word and you define it. First word, define antidisestablishmentarianism."

Sora said, "Opposition to the withdrawal of state support or recognition from an establishment."

Ibiki paused for about a good minute before giving her a check mark. Shikamaru didn't understand the reason for the pause but Asuma felt that the other kids didn't give a dictionary perfect answer and he was probably a little stunned.

"Next," said Ibiki. "Define the word flabbergasted."

Sora answered, "To be overcome with surprise and bewilderment, or astounded."

Another check mark.

Shikamaru knew Sora liked to read dictionaries and thesauruses for pure information gathering, and if she was even a fraction as smart as him, which she was actually probably smarter than him, she remembered everything she read. As long as Ibiki asked her a word that was in the dictionary, then she knew the definition.

"Define the word flummox."

Sora looked upset for a moment but said, "To bewilder, or confound or confuse."

Ibiki gave her another checkmark. "That concludes Vocabulary. Now we start Similarities. I'll give you two words and you tell me how the words are alike. So first, how are the words _know_ and _no_ alike?"

Sora sat up really straight, almost like she got jerked on a pulley. "Tell me you don't mean the answer is simply that they sound alike, right?"

"That's right," said Ibiki, giving her a check mark. "Next question. How are the words _splash_ and _plash_ alike?"

A somewhat ugly look was coming over Sora's face, her nose wrinkled, her lip was curling backwards. "Is this an intelligence test or a stupid test? Because I think it's the latter."

"Sora," hissed Shikamaru. "Just answer the question. I know its really beneath you but just do it then its Kana's turn and we can be finished."

"But Mommy," she protested. "I feel like my brain cells are dying! They're too easy! They're stupid!"

"Just answer them Sora," instructed Asuma. "If its so easy then do it and get it over with. I dealt with Shikamaru finding everything so easy he didn't bother but you're not going to be the same. No matter how easy you find something, just give it your best, each time. So answer."

Sora nodded and said, "Splash and plash are the same thing, its just that plash is considered a gentle splash."

Ibiki gave her a check mark. "Okay, last question. How are the words _auditory_ and _aural_ alike?"

Sora crossed her arms and said, "Both words pertain to the ear or to the sense of hearing."

Ibiki gave her another check mark. "That concludes Verbal Comprehension. Now we start Perceptual Reasoning. First section is Picture Concepts. I will show you a card, which has three rows of images on it. Out of each row, you are to pick a series of pictures that all go together. For example, if you pick out three images of a sky, a cloud and a sun, then you're making a complete image of a day. Ready?"

Sora nodded, still looking vaguely annoyed.

Ibiki held up a card. The first row showed a banana, a cat and a canoe. The second row was a cell phone, a car and a body of water. The last row was a fish tank, a steering wheel and a life jacket.

Sora glanced over it then said monotone, "The canoe, the water, the life jacket. The idea is going canoeing."

Ibiki gave her a checkmark and held up another card. The first row on the card was a bag of jelly beans, a pile of straw and a rake. The second row was sunglasses, a lawnmower and a bowl of ramen. The last row was a clothesline, a sofa and a pair of garden shears.

Sora sighed and answered, "The rake, the lawnmower and the garden shears. The idea is gardening and landscaping."

Ibiki wrote down a check. "One last card." He held it up. The first row held a stack of textbooks, a full grocery bag and a dog collar. The second row had a picture with a ruler, a stick of chalk and an apple, then the next two pictures were a bicycle and a desk chair. The last row had a picture of a bookbag, a picture frame and a bowl.

Suddenly Sora's face lit up and she breathed shakily, "School. The idea is school."

Shikamaru felt his heart warm. All she wanted was to get a proper education and now that the Fourth Hokage had said that the children were able to go to the Academy, he knew nothing would stop her now.

Ibiki gave her a check mark. "That concludes Picture Concepts. Now we start Picture Completion. I'm going to show you a several pictures and in each picture, there is something that is missing a part. You must tell me what part is missing. However you can't just point to a spot and say so, you must identify by the word what is missing. For example if a dog is missing his tail, say tail, or if a door is missing its doorknob, say doorknob. Understand?"  
Sora's expression was very disgruntled and her tone rude. "Only a baby wouldn't understand. Yes, I understand."

Asuma said sternly, "Sora, watch your tone. Ibiki is doing his job, alright? Don't mouth off to him. Ibiki, go ahead.

Ibiki nodded then held up the first card. It was a picture of wrapped presents, a happy holidays banner and a star on the floor with a pile of tinsel and decorations.

Sora gasped and clapped her hands excitedly. "Its missing the Christmas tree! Mommy, remember the book, Rudolph The Red-nosed Reindeer? I can't wait until December! Christmas is going to be the best holiday!"

Shikamaru smiled at her. "Yes but December is way off, seven months from now. I did tell you that book was out of season."

"Let's get back on track," said Ibiki. He wrote down a check mark then held up the next card. This one was of an kennel, it had leashes and collars and dog bowls, but no animals.

Sora said, "The kennel is missing dogs and cats. Talking about dogs and cats," she slowly looked at her parents, Asuma shook his head when Shikamaru looked at him too.

Sora slumped then perked up. "If I do really good in the Academy, then can I have a pet?"

"You can have a goldfish," said Asuma, wishing he had a cigarette. He had one in his mouth but it wasn't lit, Shikamaru forbid him from smoking around Sora. "Something that costs little to upkeep, no noise and no shedding."

Sora protested, "But goldfish aren't fun!"

"Back on track please," said Ibiki. He gave her a check mark. "Last question." He held up a card. It was the beach, with waves, the sun, beach chairs, volleyball nets and surfboards laying on the sand.

Sora gasped. "The beach! We gotta go sometime! And there's no people, that's what's missing."

Ibiki gave her a check mark. "That concludes Perceptual Reasoning. Now we start Working Memory. The first test is Digit Span. Sora, I'm going to orally give you a series of numbers and you are to repeat them back to me, either in the same order or reverse order. I'm not going to repeat the numbers so listen carefully. First set, repeat these numbers forward. Two, three, five, six, seven, eight."

Shikamaru felt for Sora as she clenched her fists. If this was him, if he was back to being a Genin, he'd sleep through this whole thing. Really Ibiki? Who chose this exam?

Asuma nudged Sora. "Go ahead and answer. Its not hard so just do it."

"Two, three, five, six, seven, eight." Sora muttered, looking really annoyed.

Ibiki wrote down a check. "Now, repeat these numbers backwards. Five hundred, sixty-five, twelve hundred and fifty-two, one thousand and seventy-one."

Sora sighed heavily then answered, "One thousand and seventy-one, twelve hundred and fifty-two, sixty-five, five hundred."

Another check mark. "Lastly, repeat these numbers backwards. Sixteen, twenty-five, four, eleven and two hundred and ten."

Sora said irritatedly, "Two hundred and ten, eleven, four, twenty-five, sixteen."

Another check mark. "That concludes Digit Span. Now on the last test, Letter-Number Sequencing. I'm going to give you a series of letters and numbers, in random order and you are to repeat them back to me in a way that the numbers come first in order of highest to lowest and the letters come after in alphabetical order. I will not repeat the series, so you must listen carefully."

Sora nodded, saying, "This might be a little more interesting."

Shikamaru understand, it finally sounded like something that might even remotely challenge Sora's intellect. So far she's just been insulted repeatedly. Asuma, after for the past eighteen days watched Sora grow and learn had no doubt she'd pass this intelligence exam with flying colors. She had Shikamaru's brain inside of her, it was no contest.

Ibiki said, "15. B. 12. G. 19. K. 22. L."

Sora pouted for half a second, then said clearly, "22. 19. 15. 12. B. G. K. L."

Ibiki wrote down a check mark. "Repeat these with the highest number first, lowest number next then the letters in alphabetical order 102. O. 189. M. 234. R. 890. D."

Shikamaru thought, _well that's a tad bit higher level. I'm sure the next one will be even more challenging. Still, it will be no problem for Sora._

Sora said, "890. 234. 189. 102. D. M. O. R."

A check mark. Ibiki said, "Last question and the test will be completed. Repeat this series. 1209. T. 2340. F. 1323. U. 1293. S. 4898. C."

Asuma thought, _nice but unfair. Sora is a genius but what about the other kids? Hikaru no doubt was unable to answer this, I doubt that knucklehead Kana would be able too either. Some of these questions were extremely easy but some, like this one, its asking a little much._

Sora said, "4898. 2340. 1323. 1293. 1209. C. F. T. U."

Ibiki gave one final check mark. "Okay, you're all done. Please go and tell Kana's family that its his turn."

Sora hopped off the table, saying, "Well, that was way too easy. I hope we get another intelligence exam, one that actually measures _intelligence_."

Shikamaru laughed and opened the door for her, saying, "It wasn't like a university entrance exam Sora, the Hokage just wants to see where you guys stand. None of you have been to school yet and after this, you'll definitely be able to."

Sora jumped onto Asuma, who willingly let her get onto his shoulders. "I can't wait to go to school! I hope I get Mrs. Hatake as my teacher, that would be really fun! If we can all be in the same class, I'd really like that!"

Asuma said, "I can only wonder who your Jounin-sensei would be after you gradate the Academy. I feel for him or her."

Shikamaru elbowed Asuma friendly-like. "Hey, Sora will be an excellent student. She's not like me, she has ambition."

"Yes but its hard to teach a student who'll know more than you and because she's ambitious, Sora will quickly become frustrated if her sensei can't met her expectations and give her all the knowledge and training she will demand. Like I said, I feel for him or her."

Shikamaru was stunned at Asuma's insight and he hadn't even thought about it like that. Yet, after seeing how Sora reacted during the evaluation he knew Asuma was perfectly right.

Sora said, "Well, I guess that just means I'll graduate the Academy early, then become a Genin. After my Jounin-sensei has taught me all he can, I'll become a Chunnin and gain lots of experience by doing missions. Then once I'm ready, I'll become a Jounin and have my own Genin students. But I really want to become an ANBU Captain, then once I'm tired of that, I'll retire to work as a teacher at the Academy. Once I'm finished there, I'll join the Konoha Council. Then once I'm too old, I'll go home and die surrounded by friends. Ah," she stretched her arms up wide. "The perfect life!"

Asuma and Shikamaru stared at each other. Asuma, for one, was just fine the way he was, a Jounin and father, nothing else he needed. Shikamaru as a young boy had also known what he wanted and it was the exact opposite of Sora's dreams. He wanted to be an average ninja with an average life, marry a regular girl, then have a girl and a boy. Retire after his daughter got married and his son became a ninja, then he intended on spending the rest of his retirement playing Shogi or Go then die of old age before his wife. A very simplistic earnest dream for his future. However that's not what happened at all, yes, he had a daughter but his "wife" was actually his husband Asuma his former Jounin-sensei and he didn't even know when he would take another mission, he had kind of been on an unofficial maternity leave for over a month now.

Asuma said, "Well Sora, you've got the right idea in your head and as your parents, we'll do everything we can to encourage and support you. Down now," he knelt and she got off him as they were at the door.

Sora went inside and said, "Kana, your turn. Don't worry, the test is so easy you'll drool yourself back into an infant stage as it sucks the life out of your brain cells. Your best bet is to hurry and answer quickly before you die."

She smiled nicely and skipped over to sit down with Mika, who was reading with Hikaru. "What's good reading you guys?"

Shikamaru thought, _that wasn't very nice Sora. _

Kana looked abjectly horrified but stood up as his parents ushered him and they left.


	6. The Evaluation 5: Kana Subaku

_The Older Subaku's_

Kiba didn't like the look of the room they had just entered, with the shabby desks, overflowing file cabinets, the strapped table and the barred window. There was even one table that was holding what looked like torture instruments. Kana's nose wrinkled but he sat on the table, crossing his arms. "Okay, okay, I'm ready! I won't let my brain cells get drained!"

Tsunade looked confused and Ibiki was in the corner. Kiba could tell from his hunched shoulders and his writing he was definitely grading. Kankuro figured Kana wouldn't do too well on this test, Ibiki was a hard-ass interrogator. And as for what Sora said, with a genius like Shikamaru as her mother then any test would be too easy and brain-cell killing for her. Kiba was also worried about Kana's evaluation, the child didn't really care to read or write, he would do it if Kiba forced him, but Kana would rather play sports outside or rough house with Akamaru. Even more surprising, he liked helping his father with his puppet modeling, he was kind of handy with the power tools and measuring. But the books? No, not Kana, not really.

"Okay, first thing Kana," said Tsunade, "is I want to make a cut on your thumb, just a little cut and take a sample of the fluid that comes out, okay?"

Kana gasped and paled. "W-wh-what? You mean, that black stuff, Hikaru, that'll be in _me_ too?"

Tsunade said quietly, "So far, each of the other children had the same fluid. I can only naturally assume you will also. Don't worry, the cut won't hurt, it only takes a second. Ready?"

Kana didn't look happy but held out his thumb. Tsunade had a razor and a vial. She placed the vial against his thumb and sliced his skin. A large drop of black fluid slipped into the vial which she then capped and put his name on it. Kana stared at his thumb which was now red along the slice, regular blood.

Kiba got a band-aid out of his pocket and placed it around Kana's thumb and smiled at him. "You see? You bleed red, just like we do."

Kana stared up at him. "But do you bleed black? Did I inherit that from you?"

"No we don't bleed black but I don't know if that's really blood," said Kankuro. "First off, the consistency wasn't like blood. Blood is thin and watery, that black liquid was very thick, more like syrup. Not to mention, it doesn't smell like blood either. Blood is a very strong coppery metallic scent, it stings the nose. That black liquid…it smells pretty darn bad, nearly nauseating. Its not a natural substance but don't worry kid, Lady Tsunade is going to test it, find out what it is and if possible, get it removed. Okay?"

Kana nodded, smiling a little bit and Kiba felt better too. And everything Kankuro said was right, that black fluid _did_ smell bad, not like a rotten garbage smell or even dirty body odor, just a _wrong_ smell. Still, he tried not to worry about it too much because for sure Tsunade would figure it out.

"Okay, time for the health check up." Tsunade took Kana's temperature, listened to his breathing and heart rate, got his blood pressure, measured his height and weight, then gave him a series of shots. "Alright, you're all good Kana, very healthy. Though, open your mouth please."

Kana frowned but opened and Tsunade looked in. She said, "Your teeth are getting chipped Kana, not extremely noticeable but I did because I'm a healer. Have you been chewing hard things, like wood or ice?"

Kankuro glowered at Kana very hard and answered as the child cringed. "Yeah, he chews anything he gets his grubby little paws on. He chews on the living room chairs, the coffee table legs, I even caught him about to eat the TV remote. I keep telling him to stop and he doesn't listen!"

"I'm sorry," whined Kana, flinching. "I can't help it! My teeth just ache some times and chewing makes it feel better!"

"Well if you keep at it you'll end up permanently damaging your teeth," said Tsunade, placing her hands on her hips. "You won't get any girls if you have jacked teeth. Kiba, Kankuro," she looked at the upset parents. "I'd suggest getting Kana something to chew on that's safe, maybe…like a chew toy. It doesn't have to be rawhide, but there are paper, mineral and wooden chew toys that are very healthy and safe. If he really is too compulsive to stop chewing things, you might as well get him something to fulfill his urge so that he doesn't continue to chew household items."

"Great idea," said Kankuro sarcastically then his lip curled. "But it fails. We've bought him chew bones, Frisbees, tennis balls, and he just chews them up within days and then goes back to chewing the furniture. He's like a puppy who can't be trained. And its not like Akamaru helps out, because Akamaru likes chewing too! The house looks and smells like a zoo!"

Now Kiba was getting annoyed as Kana's eyes looked hurt and his shoulders slumped. Kiba said firmly, "Kankuro, enough please. Kana is still growing and right now he has a little compulsive behavior, its fine. With some time he'll grow out of it and we'll continue to raise him happily and healthily. Thank you for your advice Tsunade, and we'll look into it."

Tsunade gently tousled Kana's hair. "Kana, just remember that your parents shouldn't have to bend over backwards to please you. If you like chewing, only chew on what they say you can. If you run out of available things to chew, make your own. If there any old wash clothes or socks no one is using, tie them up into knots and chew those. The rolls for toilet paper are good, once all of the tissue has been used. Also you can buy some rope to chew on. Rolled up newspapers and magazines work too, just make sure no one is reading them first, okay? Sound good?"

Kana nodded eagerly, perking up. "Yeah! I got it!"

Ibiki came over, saying, "Okay, its time for the evaluation." He sat down on a chair in front of Kana, holding a chart with his name and a stack of large flash cards. "First, a warning for you Kiba and Kankuro." He looked at them seriously. "You aren't allowed to help Kana in _any_ way. That means no sound effects or gestures or facial expressions, don't talk to him or whisper to him. Let him answer completely on his own, understand? You get one warning but if you do it again, you have to sit out the rest of evaluation outside. So are we clear?"

"Clear," said the parents together, though Kiba sounded worried. Kankuro nudged Kiba until he looked at him then pecked his nose. "Just relax. It'll be over soon." Kiba nodded and leaned his head against Kankuro's shoulder.

Ibiki closed his eyes tight for half a second then looked at Kana, who gulped. "Okay Kana, this evaluation has three parts to it and each part has two sections. All you do is answer the questions the best you can, if you don't know, just say so and I'll move on. Okay, ready?"

Kana nodded, clasping his hands together tightly.

Ibiki looked down at the chart then back at Kana. "The first test is Verbal Comprehension, and we'll start with Vocabulary. I'll give you a word Kana and you tell me the definition. Ready?"

Kana raised his hand. "Question!"

Ibiki frowned but said, "What is it?"

"What does _definition_ mean?" Kana blinked, cocking his head to the side much like a curious puppy.

Kankuro really wanted to slap the kid upside his head but he didn't move, sighing on the inside, _yeah, I knew it but I didn't know it would be THIS bad. _ Kiba bemoaned in his head, _I knew I should have forced him to read more!_

Ibiki said flatly, "It means you tell me what the word means. Are you ready?"

Kana nodded. "Yup.

"Kana, define the word antidisestablishmentarianism."

Kana said, "Bless you. Do you need a tissue?"

Kankuro just very slowly sat down, his legs too weak to hold him up. _Oh freaking Kami. He's a true idiot!_

Kiba whispered, "Kana, he didn't cough or sneeze. That's the word. Tell him what it means."

Kana's eyes went wide. "But he didn't say a word! He made a very long weird sound!"

Ibiki slashed an X on Kana's chart. "Okay, next word. Kana, define flabbergasted."

"You're excused," said Kana, looking worried. "You've got a really bad cold, you know that?"

Kiba quietly joined Kankuro on the floor. Kankuro placed his arm around Kiba's shoulders and they didn't say anything, just silently watched Kana get another X mark.

Ibiki said, "Kana, define the word flummox."

Kana said, "Flummox? Sounds like phlegm or something. You should see a doctor, hey Lady Tsunade's over there, she could help you."

Ibiki gave him another X mark. "That ends Vocabulary. Now we start Similarities. Kana, I'll give you two words and you tell me how they are alike. First set, Kana, tell me how the words _know_ and _no_ are like."

Kana picked at a loose thread on his jacket. "Is that a trick question? I'm pretty sure you just told me no twice. No and no are alike because they both mean stop! Or don't! Dad tells me no a lot."

Ibiki wrote an X on the chart. "Next. Kana, tell me how the words _splash_ and _plash_ are alike."

Kana stood off the table but only to dig in his pockets and pulled out a handful of what looked like dog food, covered in pieces of lint, hair and what looked like squished gnats. He hopped back onto the table and shoved the glop in his mouth, saying around his gobbling, "Splashing means throwing water everywhere, like playing in puddles or in the toilet water. That's when Dad tells me no."

Ibiki gave him an X mark. Kankuro checked the clock on the wall, he was sure it would all be over soon. Kiba was disgusted by Kana's eating habits, he'd have to teach him better than that. He kept telling him not to eat from Akamaru's bowl and here he was, carrying around fistfuls in his pocket. Maybe Orochimaru put Akamaru's DNA in the serum…

Ibiki said, "Next. Kana, how are the words _auditory_ and _aural_ alike?"

Kana didn't answer at first, sucking his sticky fingers, then said through a burp, "Dun-UGK-no."

Ibiki gave him an X mark. "Alright, that finishes Similarities and concludes Verbal Comprehension. Now we start Perceptual Reasoning, and begin with the section Picture Concepts. Kana, this is how this section goes. I will show you a card, which has three rows of images on it. Out of each row, you are to pick a series of pictures that all go together. For example, if you pick out three images of a sleeping bag, a tent and firewood, you're making the image of camping, understand?"

"Meh," Kana shrugged.

Ibiki lifted up a card. "Pick three images, one from each row and tell me what the concept is."

The card held three rows. The first row showed a banana, a cat and a canoe. The second row was a cell phone, a car and a body of water. The last row was a fish tank, a steering wheel and a life jacket.

Kankuro knew the answer and so did Kiba, but from Kana's blank stare, he probably didn't even understand the instructions.

"Um…" he said, "I pick…the boat, the car and the wheel."

Ibiki gave him an X mark. "And this card?" The first row on the card was a bag of jelly beans, a pile of straw and a rake. The second row was sunglasses, a lawnmower and a bowl of ramen. The last row was a clothesline, a sofa and a pair of garden shears.

Kana scrunched up his nose then said, "I pick…the jelly beans, the sunglasses and the sofa chair."

Ibiki gave him an X mark. "Okay, next."

Kiba protested, "Come on Ibiki! You could at least try and explain it to him, he's not even answering correctly!"

Ibiki gave Kiba a hard look. "That's your first warning Inuzuka. Speak again and you can sit outside, got it?"

Kiba sighed shortly but nodded. Kankuro didn't like Ibiki's tone but he felt for the guy, he's been giving the same exam for six kids for like three hours already, he's tired and sick of the brats and wants to get it over with. Honestly, if he had been in Ibiki's situation, he'd just give everyone random marks and call it a day.

Ibiki held up another card. The first row held a stack of textbooks, a full grocery bag and a dog collar. The second row had a picture with a ruler, a stick of chalk and an apple, then the next two pictures were a bicycle and a desk chair. The last row had a picture of a bookbag, a picture frame and a bowl.

Kana yawned and looked at his parents. "Can't I be done now? Sora's right, these questions are brain-draining!"

"Just finish it," instructed Kankuro. "If you don't know, remember he said just tell him and he'll move on."

Kana looked back at Ibiki. "I dunno."

Ibiki wrote down an X. "Alright, that ends Picture Concepts. Now we start Picture Completion. Kana, I'm going to show you a several pictures and in each picture, there is something that is missing a part. You must tell me what part is missing. However you can't just point to a spot and say so, you must identify by the word what is missing. So if a bookshelf is missing its books, say book. If a lamp is missing its shade, say lampshade. Understand?"

Kana nodded, fighting off a yawn. "Yup, un huh."

Ibiki held up a flashcard. It was a picture of wrapped presents, a happy holidays banner and a star on the floor with a pile of tinsel and decorations.

Kiba barely managed to hold his tongue. _That's not fair! That's Christmas, a winter holiday! Kana wouldn't know anything about that!_

Kana stared then scratched his neck. "Have no clue. It looks like a party, so maybe the people are missing."

Ibiki gave him an X mark and held up another card. "And this one?" This one was of an kennel, it had leashes and collars and dog bowls, but no animals.

Kana's eyes were closed as he yawned wide, stretching his arms up. "Dunno," he said on a shaky exhale, not even looking.

Ibiki gave him an X and moved right on. "And this last one?" It was the beach, with waves, the sun, beach chairs, volleyball nets and surfboards laying on the sand.

Kankuro thought this question was a little on the unfair side too, there were no beaches in Konoha, how would Kana know? And that last one was weird, he didn't even know the answer to that. He had seen the happy holidays banner in the picture, but Sunagakure didn't have any national or federal holidays, so if Kana had gotten that one right he would have learned something.

Kana laughed. "Whoa, what is that place?! I've never been, have you?"

Ibiki gave him an X mark. "That ends Picture Completion and concludes Perceptual Reasoning. Now we start the last test of the evaluation, Working Memory. The first section is Digit Span. I'm going to orally give you a series of numbers and you are to repeat them back to me, either in the same order or reverse order. I'm not going to repeat the numbers so listen carefully. Ready?"

Kana clasped his head with both hands, his eyes wide and teary, he cried out. "My brain cells! My brain cells are losing life! I'm gonna die if I have to listen to anymore! Sora was right, the test is killing me!"

Ibiki said stiffly, "Are you dismissing the rest of the questions? Just say so and the test will be concluded."

Kana nodded, saying desperately, "I dismiss them, I dismiss them!"

"Very well."

And his parents watched morosely as Ibiki sliced X-marks down the rest of the chart. The entire chart was covered in X's. Kana had gotten each and every question wrong.

"Whelp, thank Kami that's over!" Kana, now all smiles, hopped off the table and headed to the door. "I need to have fun, quickly, to get my brain working again."

Kankuro and Kiba followed him out of the room.

Kiba said quietly to Kankuro, "I think fun is the last thing Kana needs."

Kankuro responded, "He needs the Academy, pronto."

Kana entered the room where the other families were waiting, gasping out, "Sora, Sora, you were right! My brain cells really _were _being drained! I had to stop taking the test before I actually died!"

Kiba and Kankuro looked at each other, thinking together, _or maybe he'll flunk out of the Academy too._


	7. The Revealing Part 3

_The Families_

Now the families just waited in the room, waiting for the results of the evaluations and for Tsunade to test the black fluid. While they waited, it ended up the parents on one side of the room and the children on the other. At the moment, the children were enjoying themselves listening to Hikaru read outloud, besides Kana, who was nodding off.

"Tsubasa has a severe personality problem," was saying Sasuke to the other adults, explaining the reason for his grumpy demeanor when coming back from Tsubasa's evaluation. He hadn't spoken to anyone, not until Kankuro's family had returned. "And I won't name names, but there has to be a _reason_ why she's like this."

"Don't start Sasuke," said Iruka before Neji could explode. "This right here is the entire purpose of the marriages in the first place, so the children could have _proper_ homes, meaning two parents. Tsubasa's turn out is because the both of you, so don't start the blame game. If you don't like Tsubasa's attitude, then start parenting her the way you want her. Neji's not perfect and neither are you Sasuke. Pointing fingers has no place in a healthy marriage. You both take equal measurements in Tsubasa's raising, understand?"

Sasuke felt thoroughly talking-to'ed while Neji agreed and said, "Yes, thank you Iruka. It is the both of us…Sasuke takes missions and when I'm home, I do cleaning or something else to occupy my time. Tsubasa is either eating or sleeping, or watching TV when she feels like it."

Naruto's jaw just went slack, his eyes incredulous. "Whoa _what?_ That's _all_ Tsubasa does? What about reading, writing? What about going to the park, the library, the movies? If all she does is eat, sleep and watch TV, she ought to be Choji's size!"

Neji flushed pink, he mumbled something under his breath but the other ninjas all had exceptional hearing and caught it, he said, "Well I didn't know any better and Sasuke's no help, he's hardly home anyway."

Kiba sighed heavily. "Look Neji, us wives all have working husbands who spend long times away from the house but that doesn't mean its their fault how the kids turn out. Kankuro isn't home a lot but when he is home, he tries to raise Kana the best he can. With the back of his hand or his belt mostly, but we're working through that."

"Not that it helps," grunted Kankuro. "Kana can't keep instructions in his head for more than a minute. Its in one ear out the other with him. That's why telling him to stop chewing on the furniture or drinking out of the toilet bowl or eating Akamaru's dog food doesn't work, he'll say sorry than do it again. The only time he listens if it comes to working on the puppets, because I say hand me the drill and he hands it, it doesn't take much thinking or anything to understand."

Gaara's eyes widened. "Are you teaching Kana the Puppet Technique? You didn't tell me that."

Kankuro crossed his arms. "I wasn't teaching him that because at the time we didn't even know if he would be a ninja, remember? He saw me at my workbench and wanted to help, so I let him help. He hasn't even shown the use of chakra yet which is essential in controlling puppets."

"Wait a minute," said Asuma. "I thought all the kids were learning jutsu on their own."

Kakashi shook his head. "No, not at all. Hikaru hasn't shown any ninjutsu abilities, no chakra, and not the Sharingan either, saying he could inherit it from me. And like Kankuro just said, neither has Kana."

"Sora can do the Shadow Possession jutsu," said Shikamaru with a touch of pride.

Naruto said, "The same way Mika can use Shadow Clones, and Miki can control sand. I can only guess this means that the children are all growing and progressing in their own way. They had their growth spurts at different times, some can use charka and some can't, and I'm sure they didn't all ace or all fail the evaluations. Sounds like they're regular children to me, besides you know, their birth and stuff."

Iruka smiled. "Well now that Minato said the children can join the Academy, I'm sure with proper training they all will be using chakra and learning techniques in time. Besides, the Academy isn't _just_ about learning jutsus. Of course there's the core curriculum, they'll learn reading, writing, mathematics, science, geography, history, all of that and later on there'll be courses in tactics and strategy. All of that is used to help nourish lessons on chakra control, hand seals, weapon handling, then naturally taijutsu, genjutsu and ninjutsu. So if you say Kana is having trouble and Tsubasa has issues, the Academy will get that all sorted out, I promise. They'll be great Konoha ninjas in no time."

Kiba looked relieved and Neji smiled, but for some reason Kankuro was frowning and so was Gaara.

Naruto asked, "What's with the face Gaara?"

Gaara didn't answer but looked at Kankuro, who sighed then answered, "Well…Gaara and I are Sunanites, not Konohaians. The only reason we are married and living here is because according to the Fourth Hokage, is that you, Naruto and Kiba, are underage to leave Konoha. So we have to live here until our wives are of age or until our kids are eighteen. Basically, once Naruto or Kiba are twenty-one, Gaara and I are legally able to leave the village. That also will offer the question of who keeps the kids, if Kana and the twins will be Leaf ninja or Sand ninja."

Naruto stared at Gaara. "Gaara? Is this true? And you never said anything to me?"

Gaara's normally smooth-faced expression shifted into one of unease and apprehension. "The Fourth Hokage said it in front of everyone, when he was explaining about the marriages, I didn't keep a secret. If you forgot…I just didn't remind you."

Naruto's mouth firmed and his nostrils flared, he was getting angry. Kiba didn't know what to say but something came out and he looked Kankuro right in his eyes. "I'll fight you physically before I let you take Kana away from me." His voice was stone cold and serious.

Kankuro sighed, averting his eyes. "Look Kiba, that's far off. How old are you, eighteen? That's at least three years from now. There's no need to talk about it now, that's a discussion for later."

"There is no later," said Kiba. "Kana is staying here, in Konoha, with me."

"Same for _my_ twins," said Naruto, his eyes were tinged slightly orange around the rims of his pupils, not yet fox red.

"Let's not," said Neji as Gaara's eyes narrowed. "I agree with Kankuro, this _is_ a conversation for another time, like three years from now. Honestly, talking about parental rights at this moment doesn't make much sense. For now, we all live here, in Konoha, together. I remember the Hokage saying that and he also said the marriages could be dissolved once the children were eighteen and able to take care of themselves. Considering how fast the children are growing, sure, they've stagnated now, but let's say they have another growth spurt next year? Add in with them learning well in the Academy, maybe in just two years they'll be the size of eighteen years olds, also fully capable of being ninjas and living on their own. When that happens, we can all be divorced and go on with our lives. The point of the marriages wasn't to live happily ever after but just to raise the children until they could be on their own. Arguing about parental rights now is pointless, it might not even matter in three years at all."

Everyone went quiet as they thought about Neji's words but another voice spoke up. "Who says we want our parents to divorce?"

The adults turned and saw all the children had become privy to their conversation and had crossed the room to stand by them. This meant that the children had managed to stop talking, walk over and listen in and none of the adults had noticed, meaning they were all able to hide their presence from them even when standing _right_ next to them.

Iruka forced a smile for Hikaru, the one who had spoken. "You know Hikaru, and the rest of you, this was an adult conversation, you weren't supposed to hear, or listen. Didn't we talk about eavesdropping Hikaru? And that its wrong?"

Hikaru's face was like Iruka's, just younger, glaring right back at him. "First off, I wasn't eavesdropping. Secondly how can I _not_ hear, we're in the same room! What do you want us to do, plug our fingers in our ears?"

"Hey!" Kakashi's voice raised sharply. "Hikaru, don't you dare to talk back like that. I don't mind admitting that yes, we are in the same room but its completely possible to focus on something else and make sure you're not overhearing something you're not meant to. As for the rest of you," his one ebony eye trailed over the other kids, who either stood up straighter or gulped. "Our conversation was for adults only. That means regardless of what you heard, you aren't allowed to comment on it or talk about it. In other words, butt out. Not your business, got it?"

"But you're talking about us!" Miki bust out and stared at Gaara then Kankuro and back to his father. "What do you mean you're a Sunanite? What's a Sunanite? How can you just decide who _keeps_ us, like we're just dogs or something? What do you mean being a Sand ninja? You guys have been keeping secrets and I think its time for another revealing!"

"YEAH!" The other kids chimed in and crossed their arms, young faces hardened and eyes firm on their parents.

Naruto was furious at Gaara for not mentioning this to him, yes, okay, so he forgot but Gaara also mislead him, purposely, by not reminding him. A lie of omission. So what, was Gaara just going to let Naruto peacefully live his life, then once he turned twenty-one drop the bomb on him and leave? Even if that was the case, Miki and Mika would be staying right here, in Konoha with their mother. They would be Leaf ninjas and fully legal Konoha citizens. Yes, he loved Gaara and he would miss him terribly should he leave but he wasn't going to take Naruto's children with him, no way. Yet, how could he explain that to the children? Tell them that their father wasn't interested in playing the family man, the good father, forever? They had been getting along so well and Gaara was doing his best, how could he tell them it wasn't real, that it didn't matter? Naruto couldn't think up how to explain it, so he ended up staying silent.

Gaara never mentioned the stipulation that the Fourth Hokage had made because once Naruto and himself confessed love for each other, he didn't think it mattered. He loved Naruto, he loved his kids and the marriage was fine, he fully intending on staying married with Naruto for the rest of his life. He didn't see a reason to divorce. But there was that one matter and that was the fact that he _was_ a Sand ninja, not a Leaf. He wasn't a Konoha citizen either, he had diplomatic immunity because he was a Sand ninja and the son of the Kazekage. He was taking missions from the Leaf but only so he would earn Leaf currency, able to pay bills and buy food and the like in Konoha. The Kazekage had appeared to disown himself and his brother but he highly doubted it would last forever. His father was just pissed off at the situation and walked away to calm down. Once he was back in his right mind, Atsushi would realize he had just dumped two of his best shinobi in another village who had his grandchildren. Yes, definitely Atsushi would return and it wouldn't be pretty. And with all of that in his head, Gaara couldn't think of anything to say to placate his children. It was better to not say anything at all rather than say something that would only make them more upset, so Gaara didn't speak.

Neji and Sasuke glanced at each other, their mouths twisted and shoulders lifted just an inch. What could they possibly say to Tsubasa to make her feel better? Yes, they've managed to overcome their differences and were doing their best to make a happy home for Tsubasa but the fact remained the marriage was never meant to last for life, no one was thinking about long-term. The initial conflict was accepting the new arrangement and learning how to get along. They did, they even fell in love and now they were raising Tsubasa until she was old enough to take care of herself, then the marriage would be dissolved and they could go back to living how they were before. Unfortunately, no one had ever told the kids this arrangement and it looked like the six of them didn't like it, at all. In the end, neither of them spoke.

Iruka and Kakashi both had their eyes on the floor, trying to think of a way to get out of this sticky talk. Hikaru was really upset and they both knew how strongly he felt about love and family, there was no easy way to explain this to him. They both loved each other, they admitted it and it was real, but never did they say that they would stay married forever. They had both been very aware of the until eighteen years old rule but nor did they bring it up with each other either. That was a conversation really best to be held between them, privately. Unable to think of something to make Hikaru feel better, they both ended up staying quiet.

Kankuro didn't want to say "tough luck kiddo" to his son, because one, that was actually kind of being an asshole and two, Kana would just throw a fit. Basically, he never intended on staying married to Kiba forever. Yeah, the sex was great and he kinda did admit love a few weeks ago, but was it really love, or was it infatuation? After all, they have been thrown together in a wild situation that caused a lot of internal changes in him. If this had never happened, hell _no_ would he have "fallen in love" with Kiba, he didn't even really like him before and he thought he was weak when he had to save Kiba's life from Sakon and Ukon, enemies that took Kankuro like five minutes to kill. Yeah it made them allies but love and sex? Nah…Kankuro didn't think his thoughts meant that once Kiba was twenty-one, or once Kana was old enough to look after himself he would completely ditch but at the same time he had never thought _let's be married forever and ever. _Kankuro didn't say anything, he couldn't say "tough luck" and if he said something else, it would be like "get over it" which was also being an asshole. It was best he took the high road with this one and didn't talk at all.

Kiba saw the very stoic expression on Kankuro's face and it scared him deep down. Kiba didn't know how it happened or why, but he _had_ fallen in love with Kankuro, somehow with Kankuro being such a dick all the time but it did happen and it was real, what he felt for Kankuro was really love. Yes, he didn't know about the twenty-one years old rule and he had completely forgotten about only being married until Kana was eighteen because once he was in love with Kankuro, in his mind, that meant their marriage was for life. What would he do if once he had his birthday, Kankuro packed up and left? And didn't Kankuro confess love to him? Just as he thought it, he remembered exactly what Kankuro had responded with when Kiba told him that he loved him, _I'll admit I can't really say the words so…ditto._ Great Kami, wasn't that the biggest cop-out ever? And yet, Kiba had been so foolishly happy he never called him out on it. Kankuro didn't love him back…and now Kana wanted to know if they were going to break up, divorce and if Kankuro was going to leave the family. Kiba saw Kana staring at his parents, tears rimming his eyes and he couldn't think up anything to say, to comfort him, because right now, Kiba needed comforting too. So Kiba didn't speak and just focused on trying not to cry as well.

Asuma didn't like the mean look in Sora's eyes, he really didn't want her to crush his throat or rip it out because he had a bad feeling if she attempted to kill him he wouldn't be able to stop her. Not only did his daughter inherit super strength, she also had super ambition and super smarts. She'd be unstoppable on the battlefield as well as impossible to win an argument against. Great…. He declined to say anything, this conversation wouldn't end well, not for his health or his life.

Shikamaru saw how the other parents weren't making any attempts at speaking, and the children were looking frustrated, ready to start shouting. So, he knelt to their height and said, "Listen to me. I know this is a very difficult time for you, you learned about the circumstances of your birth, why we're married, even the truth of your parents gender. The fact is, our situation is very unique, in fact, its never been done before. No one really knows for sure what's going to happen, we are taking this day by day, none of us are thinking so far in the future. Yes, by law, we will be allowed to divorce should we wish once you are eighteen and old enough to take care of yourselves but that doesn't mean we _will_ or that we _have_ to. It's a decision between us adults that we'll make once its time. That said, there's no reason for you little ones to worry your heads about it, it really doesn't concern you and there's no need for you to ask about it. Your parents love you very much and we won't do anything that's going to hurt you for the purpose of hurting you. Just live your lives as happily and healthily as you can and we'll see how everything turns out as it happens, okay? There's no reason to be upset or angry or afraid, nothing is going to change for a long time. Everyone understand? So, can I see some smiles please?"

Sora hugged Shikamaru, nodding through some tears, "Yes, I understand. Just don't break up, please!"

Miki and Mika looked at each other, then nodded at their parents, not saying anything.

Kana didn't like it but when Kiba opened his arms, he immediately hugged his mother, not wanting to let go then he went to his father, who actually hugged him too. Kankuro wasn't much of a hugger or showed a lot of physical affection to Kana, so Kana's heart was soothed and he felt better about it.

Hikaru couldn't smile or understand, because he had very much wanted to have a _real_ family, a family who loved each other. His father loved him and his mother loved him and they said they loved each other, he was right there when they said it, but was it all a lie? If they never intended on staying married forever, what if they only said I love you to trick Hikaru, just to con him into happiness? This wasn't fair, it wasn't right. Hikaru walked away to sit by himself, not wanting to even see his parents right now. Nothing was real, he was probably not even human, his birth was a science experiment and his life was a lie. Nothing was making sense anymore.

Tsubasa had listened very carefully to Shikamaru's words and she understand totally but she had also seen her parents reaction, how they looked at each other and made the _I dunno_ gesture with their shoulders. Had they been planning all along to not stay married? It was like the marriage was sham, a fake story pulled over her eyes until she was old enough to have it ripped away. Her parents loved her, and she had heard them saying I love you to each other. So if they loved each other, all of them as a family, there was no real reason to divorce. That said, a smile came over her face. Her parents were definitely going to stay together, she had nothing to worry about. So she hugged Neji then hugged Sasuke, feeling at ease.

The door was knocked on, then walking inside was the Fourth Hokage, Ibiki and Lady Tsunade.

"Alright," said Minato, taking a seat. "Let's do the health evaluations first. Tsunade, take it away."

Tsunade flipped through the papers in her hands then faced the families, who had come back together to listen to the news. "Each of the children are healthy, no problems at all, perfect shape."

"What about the black blood?" burst in Hikaru. "Tell us about that!"

"Yeah!"

"We wanna know!"

"Speak!"

The other children chimed in.

Tsunade held her hand up for silence, then once it was quiet, said, "After testing the fluid, I realized it wasn't blood at all, but something completely different, and not a natural substance, such as phlegm or bile. In fact, that fluid is the Male Pregnancy Serum that was used to create the children in the first place."

Everyone gasped.

Shikamaru said, "Wait a minute. You mean…what we drank, myself and the others, that serum, that's inside the bodies of the children?"

Tsunade nodded. "Yes. Think of it like its extra serum, excess that wasn't fully absorbed into their system and an initial cut makes a bit of it seep out. Its nothing to worry about it, everyone should relax. You are definitely still human Hikaru, and the rest of you. You can from now on ignore the fluid when you get cut, it won't hurt you or anyone else."

There was a round of relieved sighs and Hikaru got tight hugs from his parents.

"Next," said Minato. "Is the results of the intelligence evaluations. Ibiki, you're up."

"First," said Ibiki, looking at the families. "Is I want to know if you're okay with the results being revealed in a group. If you'd rather hear separately, you can tell me."

Naruto said, "I don't mind if everyone hears, unless," he looked at his twins. "You'd prefer being told privately?"

Miki and Mika shook their heads.

"It doesn't matter," said Sora with a shrug. "Its not like we won't tell our scores anyway."

Kana nodded. "Go ahead! Let's hear it! I'm sure I did really well, definitely better than Hikaru!"

Hikaru rolled his eyes but didn't respond to Kana's boasting. Iruka placed a hand on Hikaru's shoulder and also gave Kiba a stern look. Kiba made a face, it wasn't like he told Kana to be a bully to Hikaru, he didn't start it!

"Okay," said Ibiki. "The evaluation had three sections, Verbal Comprehension, Perceptual Reasoning and Working Memory. Each sections had two tests and each test had three questions each, besides Digit Span which has four. This makes for a total of nineteen questions. I'll start with Hikaru." He lifted up a chart with Hikaru's name on it. Hikaru gulped and stood up straighter, he held Iruka's hand tightly.

Ibiki said, "Hikaru made 0/3 points on Vocabulary and 2/3 points on Similarities, for a total of 2/6 points for Verbal Comprehension. Hikaru made 3/3 points on Picture Concepts and 3/3 points on Picture Completion, for a total of 6/6 points on Perceptual Reasoning. Hikaru made 3½/4 points on Digit Span and 1/3 points on Letter-Number Sequencing, for a total of 4½/7 points on Working Memory. His final score on the intelligence exam is 12½ out of 19 points, for a total of 63%. That completes my report on Hikaru's results."

Hikaru's face fell, he looked so disappointed. Iruka kissed his forehead, "Didn't you hear Hikaru? You made full marks on Perceptual Reasoning, that's very good."

Kakashi said disgruntledly, "Yeah, that was the easiest part of the exam, he just had to look at pictures for Kami's sake. If _you_ weren't listening Iruka, he bombed the Verbal Comprehension and barely squeaked by on Working Memory. 12 out of 19 points? 63%? No a son of mine will make scores that low, not again."

Hikaru's shoulders cinched inwards, he bit hard on his lower lip then pulled his mask up over his face, his eyes lowered to the ground. Iruka's lip curled but Ibiki cut him off, "How about this, can I finish the results before you make comments? I'll do Miki and Mika's results now. Their testing was different from the others, in which they had one question each, then with a third question for them to try to answer at the same time, whoever got it right received the point. They have a solitary score, so one at a time."

He shifted Hikaru's chart to the back, then said, "I'll start with Miki."

Miki crossed his arms and lifted his chin, eyes focused on Ibiki, listening hard.

"Miki made 1 out of 2 points on Vocabulary and 1 out of 2 points on Similarities, for a total of 2/4 for Verbal Comprehension. He made 0/2 points on Picture Concepts and 1 out of 2 points on Picture Completion, for a total of 1 out of 4 points on Perceptual Reasoning. Miki made 1 out of 2 points on Digit Span and 0/2 points on Letter-Numbering Sequencing, for a total of 1 out of 4 points for Working Memory. His final score is 4 out of 12 points, for a total of 33%. That completes my report for Miki's results."

Miki's jaw dropped, he sputtered, "W-w-_what_? 33%? I did _that _bad?"

Naruto patted his shoulder. "It was your first exam Miki, no one expects a stellar result. Its okay, because once you're going to the Academy and getting a formal education, you'll make tons better grades. Don't let it bother you too much, okay? Ibiki, tell us Mika's now."

Ibiki moved Miki's chart to the back and started to read Mika's results. "Mika made 2/2 points on Vocabulary and 1 out of 2 points on Similarities, for a total of 3 out of 4 points on Verbal Comprehension. She made 2/2 points on Picture Concepts and 2/2 points on Picture Completion, for a total of 4/4 points on Perceptual Reasoning. Mika made 2/2 points on Digit Span and 1 out of 2 points on Letter-Number Sequencing, for a total of 3 points out of 4 on Working Memory. Her final score is 10 points of 12 points, for a total of 83%. That completes my report for Mika's results."

"Good job," said Gaara, giving Mika a small smile as she cheered at her grade.

Miki looked angry for a second then shrugged. "You did good at the books Mika, but in the Academy, we'll see who's the better ninja."

Mika smiled at him. "I don't want to compete Miki. Let's just both do our best, okay?"

Sasuke suddenly said, "Let's have Tsubasa's results privately, okay? We'll come outside and hear it."

Tsubasa frowned. "Huh? Why? I don't mind everyone knowing."

Neji knew exactly why Sasuke wanted Tsubasa's results private and he kind of agreed. Himself and Sasuke had very prestigious lineages, and reputations to upkeep. Neither wanted the entire world to know just how badly Tsubasa had performed on her test. She definitely did worse than Miki's 33%, she probably made more like a 10%.

Ibiki said, "Okay, if you'll step outside."

Tsubasa protested, "No! Its not fair mine is secret and everyone else gets to share! Just say it Mr. Ibiki, I want to know with everyone!"

Ibiki looked at the parents. "Which one is it?"

Sasuke grumbled, "Fine, whatever. As long as it never happens again."

Tsubasa didn't understand but Neji said, "We'll get her the best instructor the Academy has. And tutoring if she needs it."

Ibiki said, "Are you ready?"

Tsubasa nodded eagerly. "Tell it, tell it!"

Ibiki looked down at Tsubasa's chart. "Alright. Tsubasa made 1/3 points on Vocabulary, and 0/3 points on Similarities, for a total of 1/6 points on Verbal Comprehension. She made 0/3 points on Picture Concepts and 0/3 points on Picture Completion, for a total of 0/6 points for Perceptual Reasoning. She made 0/4 points on Digit Span and 0/3 points on Letter-Number Sequencing, for a total of 0/7 points for Working Memory. Her final score is 1/19 points, for a total of 5%. That completes my report on Tsubasa's results."

Sasuke had his face in his hands, though the skin of his neck and ears were red, he was extremely embarrassed. Neji's eyes were averted from everyone in the room, his hands curled into fists. Tsubasa saw her parents reactions and she blinked, wondering exactly why they were acting that way. What was wrong with 5%? She heard the other scores, Hikaru made 63, Miki made 33 and Mika made 83, everyone was making different numbers, so what did 5 mean that it made her parents upset?

"Yikes," said Kiba straightforwardly. "You guys really need to get a handle on things, don't you?"

Sasuke and Neji both flinched as if they had gotten whipped but didn't say anything.

"Sora is next," said Shikamaru, not wanting the conversation to turn to bashing the Uchiha-Hyuga's household parenting skills, or harassing Tsubasa about her low score. He had to admit, he wasn't expecting that at all. Tsubasa had a genius Hyuga for a mother and a prodigy Uchiha for a father, she should have made an extremely high score. Then again, her parents had admitted they didn't teach her anything, food, sleep and TV was all she did. No amount of inherited prestigious blood could magically make her extremely smart. Even Sora, who had definitely inherited his genius intellect, it would have been impossible for her to make a high score if she didn't do as much reading and writing as she did, all the times they studied together.

Ibiki shifted Tsubasa's chart to the back. "Sora made 3/3 points on Vocabulary and 3/3 points on Similarities, with a total of 6/6 points on Verbal Comprehension. She made 3/3 points on Picture Concepts and 3/3 points on Picture Completion, for a total of 6/6 points on Perceptual Reasoning. She made 4/4 points on Digit Span and 3/3 points on Letter-Number Sequencing, for a total of 7/7 points on Working Memory. Her final score is 19/19 points, with a total of 100%. That completes my report on Sora's results."

Sora smiled up at her parents. "That was too easy! Even Kana agreed that it was brain-draining, I bet he did really well, right Kana?"

"Don't answer that," said Kankuro dully before Kana could. "Let's just hear it Ibiki."

Ibiki moved Tsubasa's to the back, now Kana's was at the front of his pile. "Okay. Kana made 0/3 points on Vocabulary and 0/3 points on Similarities, for a total of 0/6 points on Verbal Comprehension. He made 0/3 points on Picture Concepts and 0/3 points on Picture Completion, for a total of 0/6 points on Perceptual Reasoning. He made 0/4 points on Digit Span and 0/3 points on Letter-Number Sequencing, for a total of 0/7 points on Working Memory. His final score is 0/19 points, for a total of 0%. That completes my report on Kana's results."

"Wow, wait a minute." Hikaru looked confused. "I thought I was the stupid one…but I made such a higher score than Kana." He looked at the shame-faced boy. "Hey, Kana, spell stupid."

Kana's mouth pulled down and he murmured, "K-A-N-A. Stupid." Then with a long whine, he started crying.

"Hikaru!" Iruka flicked the boy's forehead. "That was so mean-hearted! You need to apologize!"

"No he doesn't," said Kakashi as Kiba rushed to comfort his son. "Kana started it, so Hikaru ended it. Well done Hikaru, priceless."

Kankuro sighed heavily. "Two things Kakashi. One, yeah, Kana did start it but that didn't mean Hikaru had to finish it, he could have just asked for Kana to apologize to him. Two, you don't encourage kids for being jerkoffs, really? You basically just told Hikaru being a bastard to other people was okay."

Kakashi shot back, "Then maybe you should teach your kid some basic manners _and_ basic smarts. Maybe Hikaru didn't do the greatest but he didn't make a 0 score either. Hikaru was in his rights with what he said to Kana, that kid deserved it."

Just like that, Kankuro and Kakashi were arguing, Kana was wailing, and everyone else were just either standing there awkwardly waiting it out or trying to get the two men to stop shouting at each other.

Minato whispered something in Tsunade's ear and she left. She came back in two minutes with the bullhorn and shouted into it, "ENOUGH!"

It was so loud it bounced off the walls and everyone's ears rang, forcing them to cover their ears and stop talking.

"Good, thank you Tsunade," said Minato, who was astounded at how quickly the conversation turned into this fracas. Also, he hadn't realized there would be such a difference between the children's scores. Seeing as they all grew to the same age and all came from the same serum, he expected them to have the same grade, or at least all in the same range. In fact, each child had complete unique scores. Miki with his 33%, Tsubasa made 5%, Kana who had a resounding 0% and Sora who made the perfect 100%, Hikaru who made a 63% and Mika with her 83%, there was no similarities to be drawn. Everyone did differently but it did reveal one thing to Minato that was very important, and that was the fact that despite their growth, they still had extremely young childish brains. Even if they did grow into the physical age and size of an eighteen year old within this year or next year, there was no way they'd all be smart enough to live on their own. Despite it all, children were children.

"This is it," said Minato, eyes on the families. "This was the first monthly evaluation but I've decided that's the only one necessary. The children are just that, _children_. No amount of evaluating month by month is going to magically give them the brain of an eighteen year old and be ready to live on their own. Like I've said, the children can go to the Academy and become ninjas, saying they are able to pass the exams. Now, my role in your lives, besides as your Hokage, is completely finished. You five are married and have children, now be married and raise your kids. There's nothing else I should be involved in now. I've heard that you mothers are getting your chakra back so I'll have your names put back on the roster and you can begin taking missions again, Iruka you can go back to teaching at the Academy as normal. Officially, your life is your own. I have no more decrees to make, I have no more instructions for you. I'll give the last reminder, the marriages are to remain until the children are eighteen _and_ able to take care of themselves. So, that's it. You're free to go."

And that was it. All of the trials and tribulations, from the experiment, the aftermath, being forced into marriage _and_ consummating the marriages, the exams, having arguments, learning to get along and even falling in love for the most part, it had all come to its final conclusion.

Like Minato had said, their lives were their own. And the trouble should finally be over…or was it just beginning?


End file.
